Dancing into the Magician's Heart
by SweetComplications
Summary: His kingdom was changed into monsters by a spell they could not destroy. King Atem and his people now wait for the one who will break the spell. She has arrived but there are some who wish to remain the same, loving their abilities. Now danger lurks ahead
1. Chapter 1

_So this idea was dancing in my head for awhile, begging for my attention and to take the time to work on it. I hope you enjoy this story as I try to write two stories at once._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!, the characters, or the idea of Beauty and the Beast. They all belong to their respectful and rightful owners._

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><p>There was a kingdom, beautiful with the clear blue skies, meadows of flowers and bustling villages that flourished from the land's natural resources. The kingdom was ruled by a great king named Atem with his bureaucracy made up of his brother and close friends. The king treated all of his people with equality, teaching those who didn't have the same beliefs that each person was human with feelings that everyone experiences. However the kingdom wasn't perfect as many of the citizens wanted to become powerful or rich as the king and those close to him. These were the people with darkness in their heart, the kind of darkness that could lead them to kill to get what they want. The king and his bureaucracy would punish these apep as they liked to refer them as, with a method known as the Shadow Games. The lost souls of the Shadow Games loved the apep, finding the new souls to be quite appetizing. However as good the king's bureaucracy was at these Shadow Games, they could not beat their King Atem at any other games. They gave him the title King of Games, word spreading the great king Atem lost to no one at any type of game. Many came to challenge King Atem for his title, only to leave in utter humiliation. King Atem enjoyed facing all the new opponents as some had darkness in their hearts that was quickly gotten rid of with the magic his bureaucracy members had, powerful magic taught by the previous king's bureaucracy. However, the constant wins made King Atem grow bored, leaving his bureaucracy members to do the job of dealing with those who wanted to challenge him.<p>

"If you can beat one of the members in my bureaucracy, then I will play a game with you," King Atem would tell the challengers as he sat on his throne. No one could ever beat the bureaucracy members at the games no matter how simple the game was. Instead of challengers giving up, many were more dedicated to earn the title of King of Games, traveling from nations afar. A white hair stranger heard of people talking about the King of Games, wishing the king didn't hide behind his bureaucracy and face them like a real man would. He did enjoy games as well though he was only a beginner at most games.

"Maybe the king will allow me to stay at the palace to become strong as him and his bureaucracy," The white hair stranger said cheerfully as he began his journey to the kingdom. "I have been alone since I came here to in this realm after all."

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><p>The white hair stranger reached the kingdom in mid-winter, the land covered in shimmering snow. He shivered as he reached the elegant cream steps of the palace, not a single step littered with snow. The white hair stranger's face was a blotchy salmon color, his nose a darker color. He knocked on the door, wrapping his dark ebony cloak closer to him. The tall topaz colored doors opened wide, a young girl with a beautiful tan complexion and emerald eyes wearing a beautiful dress that exposed her shoulders. It was in such a odd design of aqua trimmed with pink in the middle and the edges of the dress. Her dark coffee hair was certainly in a style he had never seen before just like the matching headband wrapped around her hair, but then again he had an unusual hair as well. Her eyes widen as she took in the stranger, noticing how weary and frail he looked.<p>

"Why are you out in this storm? Are you another challenger? Come inside quickly before you catch yourself a cold," The woman said as she ushered the white hair stranger in. "What is your name by the why?"

The man quickly went inside, fighting the urge to sneeze on the woman. "My name is Bakura. I came to ask the king to teach me to become great at games just like he is. Many from the village I was living at spoke of him and his bureaucracy. What is your name if I may ask?"

The woman smiled at the stranger and was about to tell him when a tall, muscular man with the same complexion as her, came in. He was in a lilac top with pants that were darker than Bakura's cloak. The man also had a matching cloak tied around his neck, his dark hair tied behind in a ponytail.

"Mana! Why would you suddenly leave the table without excusing yourself?" The man questioned, his bluish grey eyes narrowed at Mana. Mana simply pointed at Bakura, an innocent look on her face. "I heard the door knock and I ran to get it. You always told me it was rude not answering the door Mahad. And I invited him inside as it's cold and snowing outside. He also has a request for the king," Mana replied.

The man named Mahad looked over to Bakura, his eyes relaxing. "Mana love, there are servants whose job is to open the door. I suppose we should lead him to the dining room." Mahad reached out his hand for Mana's who quickly took it, smiling. She turned towards Bakura, sending him a reassuring smile. "Follow us Bakura. I'm sure the king will be delighted to have another challenger today."

Bakura nodded his head clearly, the shivers of his body now gone from the heat of the castle. Mana kept asking Bakura questions along the way such as how old he was, what is his village like, his favorite food, his favorite game and so much more. Bakura answered her questions, amused by her excitement. He wondered if she was a member of the bureaucracy and was Mahad as well. His dark amber eyes widened as they reached the dining room, where people were chatting and laughing, making the room feel very festive. Bakura saw a man with light gold colored bangs and dark black hair rimmed with a rich maroon like color as if someone mixed in red and purple to create such a color, at the very head of the table. The man had his hands folded underneath his chin as he talked to another man who looked almost exactly like him except this man had less gold colored bangs and his hair was rimmed with a more pronounced violet color. The man also looked to be more at ease and lively than the stoic man head at the table.

'They're probably brothers,' Bakura thought as everybody looked over to him, Mahad and Mana. Bakura froze, uneasy with everyone's eyes suddenly staring at him.

"Mana! It was rude of ya to leave da table without excusing yourself! King Atem made us wait for ya to come back!" A blonde hair man yelled, his eyes narrowing at Mana. Mana stuck out her tongue in reply before turning towards King Atem.

" Because he knows you would have taken my food Joey. King Atem, Bakura had traveled far from his village in hopes of becoming a great greater such as yourself," Mana spoke with soberness, switching her mood instantly. King Atem cocked his head to the left, staring at Bakura with such severity in his eyes that matched the rich maroon color tips of his hair. Bakura bowed before the king, keeping his eyes down as he spoke. "She is right my King. People of my village have spoken of you on how great you are that I wish I could have you teach me how to become a great gamer like yourself."

King Atem got up from his chair, walking to Bakura with each step following the other in perfect harmony as his red cape flowed behind him. "Bakura, I have never taught the members of my bureaucracy to become great at the Shadow Games or the everyday games we play as for fun. They became great as they are by learning from each loss and win. I will not teach you as I have other things to handle with in keeping this kingdom strong and I have no time to teach someone. Perhaps I can let you choose which member of my bureaucracy you would like to help you," King Atem said, laying a hand on Bakura's shoulder. Something inside Bakura snapped as an evil voice spoke in Bakura's head. 'He will teach us!' The voice shouted, sending pain throughout Bakura's body. Bakura grabbed his head, screaming as the voice fought hard to gain control. "You won't have control over me! You did last time in the last realm!" Bakura yelled, shaking uncontrollably.

"My king get away from him!" a man with dark brunette hair and light sapphire eyes yelled, running to King Atem. A woman with sandy brown trailed behind him, worried over the safety of her lover and the young man.

"Seto, what's with the sudden darkness coming?" The woman asked as the others left the table to watch in horror as the man continued screaming. A bright light suddenly appeared, sending almost everyone into the table.

"Mai!" Joey yelled as he quickly grabbed the golden hair blonde before they landed on the ground in a loud thud. The light quickly faded away as everybody laid on the ground, groaning from the bruises that were to surely form.

"Yugi darling! Are you ok?" A blonde, bright green eye young woman asked going over to the king's younger brother. A maniacal laughter caught everyone's attention as they turned towards Bakura. Their eyes widened in shock, some gasping as they took in Bakura's appearance. Half of his body was in total darkness with a black devil wing protruding from his black as his hair was now messier than before. His other half however had an pure white angel wing, that side emitting goodness as Bakura's hair looked more calm. His hands were holding a red heart, his eyes closed. Bakura's eyes snapped open, a sinister smirk forming on his lips.

"You shouldn't have said that to my lighter half King Atem," the deep voice of Bakura sneered, glaring at King Atem and everyone else in the room. "I don't it when people say no to me…well to us actually."

"What are you?" Yugi asked, helping his older brother stand up. Bakura smirked, taking a step with his dark side. With that one step, he sent darkness to everyone's heart, making some clutch at their chest.

"I was a person, a human just like all you are. But my parents couldn't handle having a son with two souls as they said. So they sent me to live with this powerful magician who 'helped' me create this form as a way to keep my two souls in balance," Bakura answered simply, smirking as he saw their pain. "Honestly it is a bit lonely to be the only monster. After all, that may be why my lighter half hardly ever showed this form and kept me locked up."

"Look pal. I'm sorry dat you're a freak but dat ain't our fault," Joey replied, wincing from the darkness. Bakura merely gazed at Joey before sending another wave of darkness to him. Joey fell to the ground, shaking.

"Speak when you're spoken to you lowly mortal. You mortals of this kingdom will learn a lesson the hard way," Bakura growled. A dark cloud appeared moving quickly to Atem and everybody else, forming a cloak of darkness. Excruciating pain suddenly was digging into their bodies, the women screaming in pure agony. The tearing of fabric and skin filled the air along with the screams as the dark cloud remained in it's position. Bakura laughed as he watched all of them suffer, his eyes becoming almost black. The dark cloud darted to outside, becoming larger as it started changing the kingdom and its inhabitants as well. Slowly, King Atem rose, panting heavily.

"What did you do to us? Tell me now!" King Atem demanded, glaring dangerously at Bakura. Bakura chuckled, unaffected by the king's gaze.

"Just look at the ones behind you oh great king. You'll see what has been done."

King Atem turned towards the people behind him, gasping in pure shock. His brother Yugi had grown quite tall, now with pure gold hair and was dressed in a blue outfit. Two protruding blue like wings were on his back. He also had red orbs decorated along on the strange hat that was on his head. Yugi's lover Rebecca on the other hand, had her now darker hair flowing down to her back, dressed in a dark flame orange that reminded him of embers as she had some odd decorations in her hair. Joey was in a dark sapphire and orange armor trimmed with gold as a matching orange sword was in his hands as Mai had turned into a bird like creature in a provocative outfit. Her hair and her eyes remained the same colors but her skin was now a faint blue.

"I have blonde hair now!" Mana screamed as she caught her appearance in a mirror. That was not all that had changed for Mana however. Her skin was now a cream like color with her two cheeks a lightly shaded pink color. She was in a blue and pink outfit that barely touched her thighs but she had matching shoes and a hat to go along with her outfit. A wand like object was in her hands that she was waving around frantically. The man next to her, Mahad, now had completely lavender hair and was dressed in a darker shade of lavender outfit. He also had a wand that was pure green and much longer than Mana's.

"What have you done to Serenity?" Seto, dressed in a odd armor that consisted of a blue cape and bones of some type of an animal, yelled as he kneeled next to a dragon. The white dragon was beautiful, despite it being large and unconscious. Never had anyone remembered being told that dragons, even though they were myths, could be such a beautiful color. Bakura's eyebrow rose at Seto, wondering if the man was stupid.

"That is your precious Serenity. I merely turned you all into monsters that you would have looked like with the darkness I used to gain information against you," Bakura answered before throwing his head back, laughing. King Atem clenched his palms, until he felt a staff in his left palm. He looked at his hands, noticing they were clad in pure charcoal black leather just as every inch of his skin was too. Atem's eyes traveled up further along his arm, finding dark pink buckles as well. He looked over to a mirror, his eyes widening as he took in his appearance. Atem's skin was now turquoise, some black marks from his bottom lip to chin and some surrounding his eyes. His hair was no longer the three colors and style he once knew, as it was now pure black and traveled to the middle of his back. Atem noticed his eyes were now a crimson red in the middle of a dark yellow that surrounded the crimson. He realized he was taller too and the oddly shaped thing on his head felt nonexistent.

"How does it feel to be like mon-AHHHHH!" Bakura sneered before screaming in pure agony. He feel to his knees, trying to fight back whatever was causing his sudden rush of pain. Everybody in the room watched as the dark side of Bakura change completely to match to the good side. Bakura was now panting, already worn out from taking back control from the evil soul. "I'm sorry I lost control. He took advantage of a weak point," The good soul of Bakura murmured, ashamed of himself.

"Can you change us back? This form is beautiful and exotic but I would prefer my human body more," Mai asked, her clawed hands folded over her chest. Bakura shook his head, sighing.

"I can't reverse any spells the dark soul of me has done nor can any of you. I can however provide a way for this spell to end but it could take awhile to be done."

Yugi ran to help Bakura up, his eyes showing concern. "What could you do?" Yugi asked, his voice hopeful. Bakura bit his lower lip before answering.

"The only spell that would work to end this is for someone to fall in love with King Atem and teach him the lessons he has not yet learned as he teaches them as well. I will also put a spell on Serenity so she can have two forms instead of only being a dragon."

Bakura muttered a chant quietly. Silver sparkles surrounded Serenity as she changed back into a woman dressed in a pure marble white dress with two elegant matching wings appeared on her back. Her eyes were now more pointed as a purple cuff appeared on both her wrists and her neck as Seto scooped her up into his arms.

"Your kingdom will also be hidden and forgotten from the world until the person King Atem is meant to be with finds the kingdom. I'm sorry that this all happened but I must go," Bakura whispered, vanishing.

King Atem sauntered to the window, his boots clacking against the floor. His beloved kingdom had changed so much now as the land now varied from snowy mountains to sandy deserts. His people were now just like him, his bureaucracy and their lovers: monsters. Some no longer had human forms. Yugi appeared next to his brother, placing his hand on his brother's shoulder.

"All we can do now Atem is to wait for the one," Yugi said sadly, watching his brother's pain filled expression. Atem nodded as he sighed.

"Yes all we can do is wait for that one, wherever they may be."

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><p><em>So what do you think? I hope those who read it enjoyed the chapter and plan to stick with me on this story. While you wait for the next chapter of this one, those who haven't read Are We Ready?, you should go read it as I'm posting the next chapter of that story hopefully by tomorrow or on Monday.<em>

_I'd thought I put what characters are which Duel Monsters incase you want more visual than what I provided._

_Bakura: Change of Heart_

_Atem: Dark Magician of Chaos_

_Yugi: Maha Vailo_

_Mahad: Dark Magician (Not a surprise to you all I hope)_

_Joey: Flame Swordsman_

_Seto: Lord of Dragons_

_Rebecca: Fire Princess_

_Mana: Dark Magician Girl_

_Serenity: Blue Eyes White Dragon/ Maiden of the Moonlight_

_If you have any questions feel free to ask and as usual leave a review please!_


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: I don't own the idea of Beauty and the Beast nor do I own the show or the characters of Yu-Gi-Oh! They all belong to their respectful owners._

_Edit 1: Replacing Tea with Téa.  
><em>

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><p>Time stood still for Atem's kingdom which they would later call it the Domain of Beasts. Yet to the outside world, time continued on as many winters passed. It was now fall and the restaurant of Domino City was bustling with excitement over the beauty of nature.<p>

"Téa! You need to wait on those men over there!" Miho's father, James barked at Téa, setting a silver tray in front of the said woman. Téa groaned, wiping her hands on the white apron before taking it off. She readjusted her forest green v-neck long sleeved shirt to cover up any exposed parts those men would try to see or even touch. Téa grabbed the tray and swiftly darted to the table while still being careful of the drinks on the tray.

"Hey there pretty lady," one of the overweight men said, smirking as Téa set their drinks on the table. "I know that old man James doesn't pay you a lot so how about you give me a kiss and I'll give you a nice tip."

'Is he serious?' Téa thought as she scoffed at the man, turning to leave the table. A death grip from one of the men latched onto Téa's wrist, stopping her from leaving. Téa flinched as the pain went spiraling up her arm.

"You didn't answer Jack's question nor did he say you could leave," the other man said, smirking. Téa tried to shake off the man's grip only to it becoming stronger. 'So this is why they sat at the table furthest away from everyone,' Téa thought, remembering that the men didn't sit at their usual table.

"I'm sorry sirs but I need to get back to the kitchen and wash the dishes," Téa said, praying that the man would let go. The man didn't even budge, his eyes appeared to become more sinister. Suddenly a red blur hit the man's hand causing the man to let go of Téa and cry out in pain. Téa brought her wrist to her chest, happy that is wasn't broken. However she saw signs of bruising.

The man was nursing his hand, clearly pissed. "Who the hell did that?" The man growled out, finding what hit him. It was a die, crimson red die that Téa knew who it belonged to.

"The lady said she had to go back to work. Honestly I think I would rather prefer going back to work than kiss someone the likes of you," A man dressed in black leather jacket with a dark crimson long sleeved shirt and black jeans, said as he lumbered towards the die. His long black hair was in a pony tail as a red headband was wrapped around his forehead. His alarming shade of green eyes were in narrow slits as he turned to Téa and gently grabbed her arm. He examined her wrist, before turning back to the men. "I suggest you leave before her cousin comes and helps me punish you both for hurting Téa." James, who was waiting on the other customers, came over when he saw Téa and Duke. He also examined Téa's wrist, a frown now formed on his lips before he turned towards the men.

"My waitresses are to be treated with respect and unharmed from the type of men that you are. Leave now and don't ever come back. I will have the cops hunt you down for hurting one of us," James said, his plum eyes narrowed into slits as well. The men got up and wobbled out of the tavern, the alcohol clearly limiting their ability to even walk straight.

James sighed as he led Téa and Duke to the kitchen to find some ice to put on her wrist "I'm sorry this happened to you Téa. I thought those men had learned their lesson last time when you complained about them to me."

Téa winced as the cold ice touched her skin; James wrapped cloth around it to keep the bag of ice in place. James's daughter, Miho who was drying some cups saw Téa and rushed over to her.

"Are you alright Téa? Daddy, you should give Téa a few days off so her wrist can heal properly," Miho said, worrying over her friend's injury.

James sighed, turning his eyes from Téa's wrist to his daughter. "Miho honey, you know with it being fall and such we're busier than ever. I've been too busy to even go shopping for the special ingredients your mother needs to make her special dishes that everyone in this city loves," James explained, hoping his daughter will understand. All of a sudden, they heard someone running into the kitchen, panting heavily.

"Oh hello Tristan," Miho cheered, smiling at Téa's cousin. His tawny leather jacket, over his black turtle neck showed signs of drenched sweat. Tristan rushed to Miho.

"Hello lovely Miho. How are you this fine evening?" Tristan asked, completely forgetting about his cousin standing there. Téa and Duke were rolling their eyes, not surprised by Tristan's moves. They never understood how it was completely oblivious to Miho and James that Tristan had strong feelings for Miho. That, along with their eyes, was the only traits the father and daughter shared.

"Oh I'm fine Tristan. But please worry about your cousin than me. Daddy please give Téa the few days off. You know she'll work extra hard when she gets back," Miho pleaded, her plum eyes giving a puppy eyed look. James's expression was stern until he sighed.

"How about this? Téa can have the entire week or two off if Tristan can go shopping for all the groceries we need for the restaurant," James suggested, looking at Tristan. "Do you accept?"

Tristan nodded eagerly, hugging James. "Oh yes sir! I'll bring you the best ingredients ever and Duke will help me!"

James smiled before pushing Tristan off. "Thank you. Now if you would kindly please get off of me. I have more customers to attend to. Téa, you can go home. I want you to rest as much as you can ok?"

Téa nodded, giving James a bright smile. "Thank you so much sir," Téa said as Duke led her out while he was pulling Tristan by the ear. The group headed to Duke's two story game/toy shop where their living quarters was located in the back.

"You know Tristan, that wasn't wise of you to include me in your hunting for groceries trip. I have to take care of the store you know," Duke grumbled as they three headed upstairs to the bedrooms. Tristan rolled his eyes, slinging his arm around Duke. "You're my best pal. You took my cousin and me in when we lost our parents and you know how I long for Miho. I heard she has a hot cousin," said Tristan as he smirked at Duke's expression once he mentioned cousin.

"Fine Tristan. Now can you let me go so I can prepare my famous healing drink for Téa," said Duke as he broke free from Tristan's grip. His eyes widened before tackling Duke to the ground.

"You aren't going to make my cousin drink that Duke!"

"I add sugar in her drinks Tristan!"

"What? You always tell me we don't have sugar!"

Duke smirked before answering. "Well I guess I lied then."

Téa was standing there, watching the two now argue. She shook her head slowly before trudging upstairs. The boys stopped when they heard Téa go upstairs to her bedroom.

"Téa don't fall asleep until you have your drink first ok?"

"Ok Duke," Téa said loudly enough as she entered her room. She flipped the bedroom light switch, illuminating her entire bedroom. Her wooden furniture also seemed to glow from the light as light shone on the little trinkets she had. Téa began her search for her pajamas when a knock that Téa clearly knew was Duke's rapt against the door. "Come in," replied Téa as she picked up a brush and began brushing her hair. Duke appeared, carrying a small teacup, steam rising into the air.

"Here you go princess. My special drink with a spoonful of sugar," Duke said as he smiled at Téa. Téa smiled back as she placed her brush back on her wooden vanity table. "Make sure you drink every drop otherwise that bruise will take longer to heal."

Téa nodded her head as she took a few sips. Duke leaned over and kissed her forehead gently.

"You know I'm still glad you and Tristan came to live with me. Running the store by myself, taking care of the chores I would never do and constantly burning food was a bit hard for the Duke," Duke chuckled.

"You offered your home for Tristan and I. It's the least we could do," Téa replied as she drank the last drop of the drink. "I'm going to head to bed. I suggest you do the same since you know how Tristan came be with his snoring." Duke nodded and left the room, closing the door silently behind him. As Téa fell asleep, the soothing sounds of night lulled her to sleep and into a dream where her parents were waiting for her.

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><p>"Téa! Téa! Wake up!" Tristan whispered loudly as he shook Téa's shoulder. Téa grumbled in her sleep, flinging her arm into the air to push Tristan away.<p>

"Mo way," Téa groaned into the pillow as Tristan continued to shake her. Tristan huffed and suddenly moved to the foot of the bed. "I really don't want to do this to you Téa but I have to," Tristan sighed as he pulled away the lavender colored blanket off Téa's body. Téa shoot up as the cold air hit her skin, her voice screeching. "What the heck Tristan? Do you see how dark it is outside?"

Tristan gave a simple nod before throwing some clothes at Téa. "Yes I do see how dark it is outside. I want to get a head start on finding the best ingredients in town. I don't want to leave you home alone. That's why I decided you will be coming with us. Tristan explained. Téa slowly got up of her bed before turning to her cousin and pointing at the door.

"Get out so I can dress as you insist that I have to join you and Duke."

Tristan quickly got out before Téa could grab some hard inanimate object and fling it at him. After Téa washed her face, she looked over to the outfit her cousin had pick. An instant smile was appearing on her face. Tristan knew the right outfit to pick for going shopping. It was an lavender long sleeved top with a white jacket Tristan had given her a few years ago. Along with that, her midnight bootcut blue jeans and white boots would match with the top and jacket perfectly. As Téa put on the outfit. She put her hair up into a messy bun and grabbed a sapphire bracelet her parents had given to her when she turned 16. Pushing back the painful memories, Téa quickly went downstairs and found Duke leaning against the door, sleeping. Tristan, dressed in a red plaid shirt and black pants was coming from the kitchen, holding a blue thermos filled with coffee.

"You know Duke isn't a morning person Tristan," Téa sighed as she watched Tristan pour a cup of coffee.

"I know that. Why do you think I have coffee?" replied Tristan as he moved the cup under Duke's nose. Duke's eyes opened slowly as he took the cup away.

"I can't believe you want to go all the way into the country side to get ingredients when there's a store less than two miles away. Let's get this done and over with so I can reunite with my bed soon," Duke muttered as he opened the door leading to the garage. He climbed into the front seat as Tristan offered to drive so Duke could get some more sleep. Téa got into the back, buckling up before moving into a laying position.

"To win my Miho's heart and her father's approval I need to get Miho's family deserves the best ingredients that isn't contaminated with so many chemicals. That type of food could hurt my precious Miho and her family. You can only find organic food in the country side," Tristan declared as he turned on the radio and changed the station to play soothing music.

"You should catch some more sleep Téa. I have a map to where the best stores are at. We'll be there in no time," Tristan said as he drove the car out of the garage. Téa yawned before nodding her head. "Ok."

As Tristan drove, Téa fell asleep, dreaming of her bed back home.

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><p>Suddenly the brakes were slammed on, jolting Téa awake as she almost hit the seats in front of her. She heard Duke let out a not so pretty vocabulary at Tristan.<p>

"What do you mean we're lost? I thought you had a map on you!" Duke yelled, glaring menacingly at Tristan. Téa sat up, looking out the window. All she saw were red, yellow and orange colored trees around the dirt road they were on.

"The map must of lied to me!" Tristan yelled back as Duke yanked the map away from him. Duke's eyes narrowed as his eyes left the map and back onto Tristan.

"The map is nearly thirty years old! Why do you still have this map?"

"Cause it was the only one I could find!"

Duke slapped his forehead, sighing angrily. "You could have printed one from the computer Tristan."

Tristan blinked a few times before slapping his own forehead. He completely forgot to even see if the map was up to date. Téa blinked a few times before tapping both of their shoulders. The boys turned around to stare at her. "What is it Téa?" They both asked.

"Umm I need to go to the bathroom," Téa said, blushing slightly.

"There should be some bushes around here," said Duke as he looked out the window. Téa's eyebrows furrowed together slightly as she hesitantly got out of the car. The guys got out as well staying a few feet away from her as she looked around for a bush. As Téa went deeper into the woods, Téa was surprised that no one ever touched these woods.

"It's a bit odd how there's no signs of any human life around here. Maybe this is a protected forest," Téa said to herself as she found a bush. As she buttoned up her jeans, she heard a few twigs snapping. Téa looked over to where Tristan and Duke were, chatting. "Did one of you guys just come over here?"

Both boys shook their heads, shrugging their shoulders.

"Nope. We've been standing here the entire time Téa," said Tristan, folding his hands over his chest. Téa looked around her, noticing that all the leaves were now green.

"Umm you guys, all the leaves are green," Téa whispered loudly enough as the guys also noticed the colors of the leaves.

"Dude did we skip winter or something?" Duke asked, staring at the leaves. They heard more twigs snap, this time behind Duke and Tristan. Téa's eyes grew wide as she saw what was behind them. A giant bug like creature, clad in metal armor was huffing its eyes showing the look of hunger.

"You guys. Look behind you," Téa whispered before darting away. Tristan and Duke blinked a few times before looking behind them. Their eyes grew wide in terror as they saw the giant bug creature. They took a few steps away from the bug before breaking into high speed chasing after Téa.

"What the hell? That's a giant bug!" Tristan yelled as the bug started chasing after them.

"Jeez you think!" Téa yelled back as they continued darting through the forest.

"This is the last time you will ever drive my car Tristan and drag me into anything like this again!" Duke shouted, clearly pissed. The bug creature was scurrying faster, almost catching up to the three.

"It's catching up to us! What do we do?" Téa shouted, panting heavily. Tristan and Duke noticed they were somehow already near the edge of a cliff with a clear bright ocean below. They also noticed an empty cave was near. Tristan caught Duke's eyes and nodded, knowing what Duke was thinking. Duke and Tristan grabbed Téa's elbows, leading her towards the cave. "What are you guys doing?"

"Saving your life!" Duke and Tristan shouted as they threw Téa into the cave. As soon as she was in the cave, the boys saw the bug had not noticed Téa was now in the cave but was nearly on their feet.

"Ready for jumping off a cliff and into an ocean?" Duke asked, smirking. Tristan nodded. "It's a one in a lifetime experience man," shouted Tristan as they jumped off the cliff into the blue depths of the ocean. The bug creature continued to follow, falling off the cliff to its death. Tristan and Duke had managed to escape from being crushed as the waves washed them ashore onto the beach.

"That was the worst one in a lifetime experience," Duke coughed as he and Tristan laid on the beach, catching their breath.

"Yeah. So was seeing that bug," Tristan said as he stood up to examine his surroundings. "Crap."

"What is it Tristan?"

Tristan merely pointed to the ocean, his head down. Duke raised an eyebrow, following Tristan's finger. His eyes grew wide before going into panic mode.

"How the hell are we supposed to get to Téa when we're miles away from her and the only thing between us is water? We have no boat!"

Tristan sighed, plopping down onto the sand. "I don't know man. I just don't know."

He leaned back to lay on the sand when his back hit something hard. Tristan blinked and looked up to what was behind him. Tristan's jaws dropped open as he saw a smiling face of a young man with dark chocolate eyes and messy dirty blonde hair.

"Heya there pals. How da heck did you get to da Domain of Beasts? And why are ya two in such weird clothing? Hey Seto, do you think dat one of them could be da one?" The man asked his companion whose eyes reminded Tristan of Téa's only a few shades lighter and more mean, were in narrow slits.

'Then again,' Tristan thought as he noticed the man's named Seto armor, 'My eyes would probably be that way too.'

The blue eyed man Tristan assumed was named Seto scoffed before a small smirk appeared on his face. "It would be quite amusing for any of these two to be 'the one' for our Atem flame boy. I can only imagine the furious look on his face when we take this two to the castle."

"Serenity told ya to call me Joey. You'd think you'd finally learn dragon breath!"

Seto grabbed Duke while Joey grabbed Tristan, leading them towards the woods.

"Hey! Where are you taking us?" Tristan demanded as Joey's grip on his arm tightened. Seto's eyes somehow managed to become more narrow than it already was.

"You should pay attention more you brainless man. We're taking you back to the castle," Seto replied as they stopped in front of two creatures. Duke and Tristan's eyes grew wide when they realized that the creatures were dragons, one that was pure black with red eyes while the other was somewhat grotesque looking with green skin and pure white eyes. Joey threw Tristan onto the saddle of the black dragon and sat behind him. Seto did the same except Duke landed on the horn.

"Ouch. Dat's gotta hurt," Joey muttered as he took the reins and as soon was he moved the reins slightly, the black dragon flew high into the sky. Seto's dragon soon joined up with it into the air, wind blowing through their hair. Tristan and Duke looked at each other, both having worried expressions on their faces and the same thoughts running through their heads. What were they going to do about Téa?

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><p>Téa feeling dizzy, groaned as she struggled to sit up. Her head was pounding from the sudden impact of the stone floor as she laid on it. Téa realized her wrist got worse when she put pressure on her hand, pure shocking pain jolted up her arms. She also tried moving her left foot when the same kind of pain her wrist was in.<p>

"Great. My wrist and ankle is probably broken. Just what I need," Téa muttered as her eyelids were drooping. Téa heard footsteps of two people walking towards her, "Who's there?"

"You poor thing," A female voice cooed as she leaned down and brushed back Téa's hair. Téa tried to make out what the woman looked like when she felt a calm, relaxing sensation run through her body. The last thing Téa felt was strong, muscular arms gently picking her up and wind running through her hair before she fell asleep.

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><p><em>Well how do you all like it? :D Honestly this chapter and story was going to be completely different until I ask Sara and she helped me realize that it's common and slightly predictable if I continued how the chapter was originally going to be. Anyways review please as I begin working on the next chapter of Are We Ready and chapter 3 of this story at the same time! Wish me luck on that ^^<em>

_Btw, Seto's dragon is Phantom Dragon incase any of you want to know._


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I own nothing! I don't own the idea of Beauty and the Beast nor do I own the manga, show or characters of Yu-Gi-Oh! They belong to their respectful owners

I'd like to thank Germantownmaiden for helping me with this chapter during one of my bad days. Honestly I think the chapter is better thanks to your help! 3

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><p>Tristan and Duke had gained a new fear of flying as Joey challenged Seto to have a competition on who could do the most tricks, leaving their passengers to clutch on for dear life.<p>

"Heya pal. You ok?" Joey asked Tristan, who shook his head as he tried not to lose his breakfast. "Well you will be soon! We're at da castle!"

Tristan's head shot up, his eyes widening as he took in the scenery. A magnificent grey castle stood in the middle, beautiful oak trees rising high to the sky as white lilies swayed gently with the breeze the dragons were creating. A crystal like wall appeared, surrounding the castle as they neared closer to it.

"We're going to crash!" Duke yelled, wrapping his arms around the horn of the saddle. Seto rolled his eyes while Joey snickered as an entrance to the castle appeared and opened, allowing the two dragons to fly in easily. "Um what was that?"

"It's a spell Atem created as a way to protect the castle and its inhabitants," Seto explained as the dragons landed onto a huge field, near what appeared to be stables.

"From what?" Tristan asked as he hopped off the dragon with Joey's help. Seto smirked as Duke jumped off.

"Man-eating bugs, animals and more that could easily snap someone's neck weak as you." Tristan and Duke gulped, staring at the forest. Was the bug that chased them hoping that they were to be its next meal?

"Now if I were ya guys, when Atem comes out I would be quiet until Atem tells ya when ya can speak. Otherwise, keep your mouths shut," Joey suggested as they climbed up the steps of the palace to the front entrance.

Duke and Tristan looked at each other before Tristan turned back to Joey as Seto and Joey led them to what appeared to be a throne room from the large velvet gold throne placed on a raised platform. Ivory curtains hung from the windows, gently blowing away from the opened windows.

"Why?"

"Atem may not be happy to see two guys standing in front of him, one of you who may be 'the one'," Seto explained as they reached to the throne. Expecting to see whoever Atem was, Duke and Tristan merely just stood there, wondering was the hell was going on. Suddenly wisps of amethyst smoke swirled around their feet, as Seto and Joey watched Duke and Tristan become stiff when the smoke touched them. Suddenly the smoke latched onto their wrists, forcing them to kneel on their knees as a figure appeared, standing before the throne. They gasped as the figure materialized fully into a solid. The pure charcoal black hair of the figure was swaying gently from something Duke and Tristan could not see as his outfit made them wonder what was with all the black leather and metal buckles. The figure's eyes were seemed to be calm, as a book was in the hand of what appeared to be a staff to the two. Never had they seen someone with blue skin, well except for Smurfs.

"I see that you found something interesting when you were riding your dragons today," The man they figured was Atem said, his eyes staring at Duke and Tristan. Joey nodded before going up to Atem and wrapping his arm around Atem's shoulder, despite the height difference.

"Saw da two jumping off a cliff from metal armored bug. I believe dat one of da boys could be da one Atem," Joey snickered as he watched Atem's face scrunched up slightly. Atem's eyes narrowed as he turned to Joey, gripping his staff tighter.

"This is not funny Joey. They cannot be the one as I have no attraction towards men, especially ones in odd clothing" Atem growled, the amethyst smoke turning black. Joey jumped away from Atem, holding his hands up in front of him. Seto chuckled at Joey's actions which he received a glare from Joey.

"That has to be the case Atem. They are the first humans we have seen since the curse was placed," Seto said, glancing at Duke and Tristan. Both of them had confused expressions on their faces, wondering what the hell did mean by curse and 'the one'?

"We're back and look at what we found!" A voice cheered, causing everyone to look towards the entrance. Duke whistled lowly , resulting in Tristan trying to kick him as they saw a woman in a somewhat skimpy pink and blue outfit, her golden hair perfectly in place. Her emerald eyes seemed to sparkle with happiness as a man dressed in a dark shade of lavender was behind the woman, had small hints of a smile on his face. Tristan and Duke's eyes widened when they saw what the man was holding.

"Tea!" Duke and Tristan shouted, trying to break free from the restraints. The sight of blood on Tea's white coat churned their stomachs along with the sickening purple bruise on her wrist. The green eyed beauty blinked, staring at the two.

"Her name is Tea? It suits her, don't you think Mahad?" The woman asked the man carrying Tea. Mahad nodded as he glanced at Duke and Tristan then onto the other three men in the room.

"It looks as though we were not the only ones to find something interesting Mana," Mahad commented as he strode towards Atem, Seto and Joey with Tea still in his arms. Mana however decided to float instead of walking as she held out her wand to Duke and Tristan. They flinched, closing their eyes as some pink electricity flew from her wand. Duke and Tristan opened their eyes, expecting to find beautiful women to escort them to heaven, when they saw Mana giggling at them.

"I'd stay there if I were you. Oh and Tea is going to be fine. Atem and Mahad are going to heal her," Mana suggested as Tristan and Duke stood up. Tea was still in Mahad's arms while Atem had his hand placed on her forehead. A faint blue orb appeared, surrounding Atem's hand when a blinding bright light filled the room, causing everyone to shield their eyes. The light slowly dissipated into thin air as everyone blinked a few times to readjust their eyes. Duke and Tristan heard five gasps, spiking their curiosity on what was going on. Then they saw it. Tea was now in Atem's arms, completely healed, still unconscious.

"Why are they surprised by that?" Duke whispered to Tristan. Tristan shrugged before his eyes narrowed slightly.

"I don't know but I don't like that guy holding Tea," Tristan replied before he marched over. A invisible barrier stopped him in his tracks. Tristan looked over to Mana, finding her with a scowl on her face.

"I told you to stay. You need to listen when you're here. You two are just simple humans in a room with those who have magic," Mana told him, her eyes going back to Atem and everyone else.

"Well my chances of making fun of ya if those two were d- Hey I was just joking," Joey said when he noticed Atem glare at him. "Jeez. Can't take a joke around here."

"Mana prepare a room for Tea," Atem ordered, his expression softening as he turned towards Mana. Mana saluted Atem and was about to leave when she remember Tristan and Duke.

"What about these two?" Mana asked as she pointed to Tristan and Duke. Duke and Tristan froze when they felt everybody's eyes on them. Seto walked up to the two, who were now standing still, completely stiff.

"What relation do you have to Tea?" Seto asked, his eyes narrowing slightly.

'Jeez. I bet this guy doesn't ever get a girl's attention or anything,' Duke thought as Tristan answered Seto.

"Tea is my cousin and Duke is a good friend of ours. Can we please take Tea and go back home?"

Mahad joined Seto, placing a hand on Tristan's shoulder. A sympathetic expression with some sadness clearly was shown in his face.

"We're sorry but you can't leave," Mahad said quietly, watching for their reactions incase they decided to turn violent.

"Look here pal. We need to get home as we all have jobs and friends back there," Duke said, pissed at Mahad's answer. 'What do they mean we can't go home?'

Joey sighed as he joined Mahad and Seto in explaining why they couldn't leave."We are under a curse dat made us like dis. We can't undo it no matter how powerful Atem, Mahad and Mana's magic is combined. Also nobody can leave dis place until da curse is broken by da one. Tristan your cousin is da one."

Duke and Tristan blinked and turned towards each other.

"No Miho," Tristan whispered.

"No game shop," Duke also whispered.

Both boys fell back, unconscious as they realized that they were now stuck in a world where curses, magic and monsters existed. Joey and Mana snickered as Seto and Mahad sighed, staring down at the two idiots.

"I'll go prepare two other rooms for them. Have fun carrying them boys," Mana giggled before she disappeared, leaving a pink cloud with a hint of glitter where she once was. Mahad who had developed a small headache held out his hand and a green aura sprang forth, engulfing Tristan and Duke. Their unconscious bodies floated in the air as Seto turned towards Atem.

"Do you want me to take the girl?" Seto asked, watching his king. Atem appeared to be memorized by the girl, his crimson eyes locked onto her as if there was something more than what they could see. Atem shook his head as a mahogany door appeared in front of him.

"I'll take her to her bedroom," Atem replied as the door swung open, revealing a staircase. He stepped in and climbed up the stone steps, slowly as if he was afraid he would wake Tea. As he reached the final step, the mahogany door in front of him opened, allowing him to exit. The door closed and disappeared once he was in the beautiful hallway, decorated with bouquets of flowers Mai and Serenity found on the palace grounds. The elaborate royal blue rug trimmed with gold, Atem was walking on nearly covered every inch of the ground yet appeared to be remarkably clean. He stopped in front of the bedroom that would be Tea's as Mana had put up a sign on the door that said "This is Tea's room so don't you dare put her anywhere else!" The door creaked open, allowing Atem to step in quietly. He tiptoed into the room, not wanting to wake up the slumbering Tea in his arms. The room, not having been touched in years, appeared to have the furniture rearranged and perhaps changed in color as the couches, desk and paintings were not what he remembered. The oak canopy bed, once draped with dull white curtains that had turned grey, were replaced with navy blue curtains . The sheets and blankets matched the curtains, trimmed with gold along the edges. Atem temporarily moved one of his hands in front of the bed, the covers pulling back. He walked to the bed, gently placing Tea onto the bed. Atem covered Tea, his hand accidentally touching her cheek. Atem froze when Tea let out a whimper in her sleep.

"Mom, where are you?" Tea whispered barely loud enough for Atem to hear. Nothing more came from her, only the sounds of her breathing filling the room. Atem his expression stoic, brushed a strand of her hair back. He left her side as he walked back to the oak table, grabbing his staff. Without looking back at the slumbering girl, Atem disappeared, leaving a bundle of almond blossom tied with a black ribbon, on the table and feelings of confusion in the air.

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><p>The whispering of female voices stirred Tea awake, along with the weight of them on the ground. 'Wait, this doesn't feel like a bed,' she thought, slowly opening her eyes. She didn't expect to see bright emerald eyes of a blonde hair woman staring directly into hers. Tea screamed, causing the bright eyed beauty to jump back.<p>

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to scare you! It's just that I wanted to meet you since it's been awhile that I talked to someone new. By the way my name is Mana," Mana chattered on. Tea blinked a few times, confused.

"It's ok but um Mana? Could you tell me where I am? The last thing I remembered was being in a cave and then feeling someone picking me up," Tea said as she observed her surroundings. She was trying to figure out how did she go from a cave into a beautiful room she was in.

"You're in the castle where my friends and I live in. You remembered Mahad picking you up. Honestly we weren't expecting to find you but we're glad we did with all of the injuries you had."

Tea's eyes grew wide before throwing the covers off and jumping out of the bed. She nearly collapsed when Mana caught her.

"Thank y- How are you floating?" Tea yelled as she saw Mana floating in the air.

Mana led Tea back to the bed, scratching her cheek.

"Well you see it's a long story but to sum it up we were cursed by a white hair man who changed everyone into the kingdom into forms that reflected our hearts," Mana explained, remembering that Atem and Mahad ordered that no one tell her about how to break it as they wouldn't want her to try to fall in love with Atem out of pity.

Tea sat there, trying to take in what Mana said. "Either I must be crazy or the near death experience caused by a giant bug chasing me changed what I believe to be true or not. But what you're saying sounds like everything is true. I know that amusement parks could never create something like this."

Someone chuckled, Mana and Tea's eyes darting towards the source. There stood a blonde hair bird woman, her violet eyes watching the girls. Her skin color shocked Tea, never had she seen anyone with blue skin well except for that one time when a customer was choking on fried chicken. The woman's wings on her arms were folded neatly across her chest, covering what Tea could tell was some type of armor.

"I never heard of an amusement park but I will admit that it does take awhile to get used to accept what we are but it has its perks. I'm Mai by the way hun," Mai said as she pulled a chair and brought it over to the bed.

"Tea," said girl replied. Tea suddenly remember Duke and Tristan, jumping off a cliff. "Has anybody seen a man with green eyes and black hair wearing a red headband and a guy with an odd hairstyle whose color of hair is somewhat similar to mine?"

"Oh those two! Your cousin Tristan and your friend Duke are in a room down the hall. We thought it'd be best to keep you here all together since you won't be able to leave at all," Mana blurted, covering her mouth when it was too late. Tea's forehead scrunched up slightly, looking both at Mai and Mana.

"What do you mean we can't leave?"

Mai, who had sent Mana a disappointed look, turned towards Tea before explaining.

"Mana wasn't the one who was supposed to share that with you. But since she already told you I might as well explain. You, your cousin and your friend are the first ones to come into this kingdom in a very long time from the look of your clothes. With the curse that was placed, we believed that once people entered the Domain of Beast, no one may leave ever until we find some way to remove the curse."

Tea sat there, allowing everything to sink in. "So we're stuck here?" Tea whispered quietly, already knowing what the answer would be.

Mana and Mai nodded, watching Tea as they saw her eyes become cloudy with tears until Tea rubbed her eyes. She sent Mai and Mana a reassuring smile that she wasn't going to cry, at least not in front of them.

"I guess I'll just have to readjust to this world, but the ones back home are going to wonder where we are."

Mana giggled, knowing that most likely Tea had the most confused expression on her face. "It's all taken care of Tea. Just because we can't leave doesn't mean we can't use our magic to change some things. I have to say, I really want what people of now call a motorcycle."

Tea blinked, trying to figure out how they knew about motorcycles. From what Tea observed in her bedroom, this kingdom and people had to be from the 1600s-1800s as she knew that they had to be taken aback from her clothing and what they knew of life outside of here.

'Wait. How do they know?' Tea thought, curious. She was pretty sure Tristan or Duke wouldn't mention anything about home knowing how those two probably were in total shock, perhaps more than she was.

"We managed to alter people's memories into thinking that you're going to be on a year long vacation with Duke and Tristan. It was quite easy to find Miho through your cousin's memories. He seems to think a lot about her," Mana explained as if what they did was perfectly normal.

"Wait you guys can go through people's memories?" Tea asked, surprised. She certainly didn't want them going through her memories, particularly the embarrassing childhood ones.

"Only Mahad and Atem can. I'm actually still in the process of learning how to."

A knock quietly rapt on the door, everyone's attention now onto the door as it opened. There stood a woman with rust colored hair in a dressed that was as pale as the moon at night time. Her wings seemed to glow even with only one window having the curtains pulled back.

"Oh good she's up," The woman said, a huge smile on her face. She walked over to them, joining Mana on the bed with Tea. "I'm Serenity."

Mai was still looking at the door until she turned towards Serenity. "Where's Rebecca?"

"You know how Rebecca can be Mai. She decided she rather wait to meet Tea," Serenity replied, folding her hands across her lap. "Oh! Seto told me that all three of you ladies are to come downstairs, especially you Tea."

Tea nodded her head as she got out of bed with Mana's help. Tea was about to slip on her shoes when she noticed something on the table. She slowly walked over to it, finding the bundle of almond blossom with a black ribbon tied around it. Tea blinked a few times, before turning towards the other females in the room, their confused expressions reflecting her own until they saw the black ribbon.

"Who is this from?" Tea asked, her fingers gently touching the soft petals of each almond blossom flower. Serenity got up, looping her arm through Tea's.

"Well only one of us in this castle uses the black ribbon, the one you're about to meet," Serenity answered as Mai led them out of the room. Mana looped her arm through Tea's other arms, trying to figure out why Atem left a bundle of flowers when he didn't know Tea at all.

"And who would that be?"

Mai, Mana and Serenity smiled as a red door appeared in front of them, wide enough for the three connected girls to step in easily.

"Atem, our king of course," Mana giggled as she watched Tea's eyes widen at her answer.

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><p>So that is chapter 3 of this story. I was going to post it up yesterday but you know everyone needs an hour break typing this much once in awhile right? Sorry if the ending kinda sucks. It's past 3am as I'm typing this and I'm not a night person at all but I stayed up to finish it, edit then post it for you guys. Also just to let you guys know, wisdom teeth are not fun at all and they can totally distract you if you're not the type of person that likes pain x.x<p>

Review and if you haven't, check out my other stories while you're waiting for the next chapter of Dancing into the Magician's Heart to come out.


	4. Chapter 4

_Disclaimer: I don't own the idea of Beauty and the Beast nor do I own the characters, story or anything related to the story of Yu-Gi-Oh!_

_So it's been 25 days since I updated this story. I'm sorry but I was hit with a writer's block for both stories since I wasn't very organized. I need organization in my life to keep things flowing smoothly. Anyways I'd like to give a huge thank you to Elys! She helped me out with this chapter with suggesting several ideas and telling me whether she thought what I shared with her was good or not. If any of you speak Spanish, can read it or have some type of translator, go read her story like ASAP. It's wonderful (:_

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><p>As they walked down the stairway, Tea could tell that Mana was the talkative one, Serenity was the slightly timid one but she warmed up to Tea quickly and Mai had this sort of older sister vibe.<p>

"Mana, I have a question for you," Mai said as she diverted her attention from her talon onto the female magician. "When does this stairway end?"

Mana, blinked a few times before her eyes grew wide.

"I forgot to make the exit!" Mana screeched, hiding her face in her hands. "Mahad always told me to make the exit first then the entrance since I can't make both at the same time. Oh he's not going to be happy with me!"

Tea laid her hand on Mana's shoulder, causing Mana to look up at her. "I'm sure if you just make the exit now, we'll make it downstairs. How hard could it be?"

"There's a slight problem in that. We don't know where exactly we are in the staircase," Serenity muttered, her snow white wings wrapping around herself tighter.

"You're kidding right?" Tea asked, hoping that Serenity was just making a joke. When the other two didn't reply, Tea just sighed. "Well, at least we're not crammed in with boys."

Mana's head jerked up, snapping her fingers. "I can create a window, leading to the outside. Problem is if we're high up, only three of us can fly."

As soon as Mana said this, the three women turned towards Tea, all curious on how to transport her.

"I'm not jumping out of the window nor am I jumping on anybody's back. I'm probably too heavy for you guys," Tea replied, shaking her head. There is no way she would be jumping to her death nor did she want to trouble them.

Mai scoffed, grabbing Tea as a window, about eight feet high and wide open, appeared in front of them. Mai peeked out and saw that somehow, they were higher up

"I think someone messed with the spell you made Mana. We're high up, above Tea's bedroom" Mai said, as she wrapped one arm around Tea's waist, before jumping out of the window. Tea's eyes grew wide, wrapping her arms around Mai's neck as the other two girls jumped out of the window as well, flying with them.

"Who could of messed with it though? Mahad and Atem are the only on- Oh those troublemakers!" Mana screeched as the got closer to the ground. She made another window appear, allowing them all to swoop into the room easily. Mana however didn't stop as she flew towards a man, clad in blue and orange armor. She knocked him onto the ground, an 'umph!' sound coming from the man.

"What da heck are ya doin' Mana? Get off of me!" The man yelled, trying to shove Mana off as she was standing right on his chest.

"Not on your life Joey," replied Mana. Her eyes were narrowed with pointing her wand directly into Joey's face. "Where's Mokuba?"

A small squeak made Mana dart her head to the crimson curtains hung, a bulge in one of them. Staying on Joey's chest, Mana quickly pointed her wand at the curtains. A pair of pink hands burst out of her wand, flying towards the curtains at a high speed. The hands gripped the curtains, pulling them off the wall to reveal what was making the bulge.

A small boy with black hair, stood there, a brown fur ball next to him. Tea saw that his outfit consisted mostly of purple with a crimson colored slash wrapped around the boy's forehead. He had what appeared to be matching arm braces and what she guessed was supposed to be suspenders, holding up his top in place. His wand however was almost a pale green color, nearly as tall as him. The pink hands grabbed Mokuba and the fur ball, bringing them to her. Once Mokuba was standing in front of her, the pink hands disappeared with a poof, gold sparkles littering the floor.

"What did Joey bribe you with this time to mess with my spell?" Mana asked Mokuba, who looking away. There was no way he was going to look at Mana. He knew once he did, he would break down.

When she received no reply, Mana huffed. She jumped off Joey but before he could even sit up, the pink hands reappeared, holding Joey down. She went over to Mai, Serenity and Tea. She grabbed Tea's wrist, pulling her towards where Mokuba was standing.

"Mokuba. If you do not tell me, I will hog Tea all to myself and I will have Mahad give you a bunch of more homework."

Mokuba's jaw dropped, surprised. "But that's not fair since Tea is new to here and everybody wants to be her friend. You can't give me more homework anyways! Mahad is my teacher, not you!"

"I assist him in teaching you as you're the youngest of us all. I have every right since you messed with my spell and I know that you couldn't have done that spell without stealing Mahad's book. Now if you tell me you can play with Tea and I won't punish you."

"No Mokuba don't do it! She's lyin'!" Joey yelled before a finger from the pink hand covered his mouth.

"Joey bribed me with candy and snacks for Kuriboh. Oh and promised me he would take me to see the sea koala pups," Mokuba replied, snickering as he heard Joey try to break free of the chains. "Hey Tea want to go play with Kuriboh and me?"

"Umm sure. I would-"

"TEA!" Two voices shouted before she felt two hands grabbing her wrist, pulling her away. Suddenly she felt a small gloved hand grab onto her other wrist, pulling her.

"Hey kid. Let go of her," Duke ordered, narrowing his eyes at Mokuba.

"Don't call me kid! I'm probably stronger than you," Mokuba growled, his eyes narrowing at Duke. Tristan rolled his eyes, reaching over to Mokuba to shove his hand off Tea's other wrist.

Bad move.

Mokuba, predicting what Tristan was going to do, ordered Kuriboh to flung himself at the two boys.

"Come on Tea, this way!" Mokuba laughed as he, despite his small size, pulled Tea with him towards the opposite way. Suddenly five blurry images slowly formed in front of their path. But Mokuba wasn't paying attention as he was sticking his tongue at Duke and Tristan.

"Mokuba watch out!" Tea screeched, hoping that Mokuba would stop in time.

"Huh?" was Mokuba's reply until he hit the now solid image. He looked up, finding it to be his older brother, his eyebrow arched. Tea on the other hand, hit her head against a metal ring, nestled in the middle of a muscular chest. A hand gripped her arm gently, pulling her back slightly.

"Are you alright?" The owner of the muscular chest asked Tea, his voice laced with concern. Tea looked up, her mouth gaping open when her eyes met the man's face.

Tea didn't know if she should feel afraid of this man, feeling as if his crimson eyes were searching her very soul while they appeared to be so gentle at the same time. Despite wearing almost entirely black leather with chains, markings on his face and long charcoal hair, Tea felt safe.'He's the one that left the flowers for me?' Tea thought, wondering if her new friends were actually telling her the truth. Realizing that he was probably waiting for an answer, Tea snapped out of her dazed state.

"Yes. Maybe just a little bump on my forehead but that's it. Oh!" Tea replied before pulling away from the man, a blush forming on her cheeks. She didn't realize how close she was to him.

Just as the man was about to reply, Tea was being dragged by Tristan and Duke, coughing up a few hairballs.

"Tristan, Duke! Let me go, I'm not a dog toy!" Tea ordered, dragging her feet.

"No Tea. We're getting out of here," Tristan replied, pulling on her a bit harder. Tea wondered if the boys knew they couldn't leave. However, right now she wasn't happy with the two pulling her. Tea shot one of her legs out, aiming at the back of Tristan's leg. He let go when he felt the kick, falling to the ground. Duke soon joined him as when he turned around, Tea accidentally got him in a bad spot. Tea's hands flew up to her mouth, kneeling next to the guys.

"I'm sorry but you guys are being irrational and kind of stupid," Tea sighed, holding out her hands to both of the idiots.

"We're not!" Tristan and Duke replied, now standing up.

"Yeah you are. You do know that we can't leave the-What's this place called?"

"It's called the Domain of Beasts," Mana answered, causing the three to turn over to her. Mana smiled, gesturing with her hand for Tea to continue on.

"The Domain of Beasts. Don't you think they would have left?" Tea asked Tristan and Duke, her arms folded against her chest. She looked like a mother, scolding her two crazy sons.

Tristan and Duke looked at each other then back at Tea. "We didn't think about that."

Tea's palm now rested upon her forehead, shaking her head slowly.

"This is why I need more female friends in my life as you two forget to think before you act."

Tristan and Duke mimicked her, their arms folding across their chests.

"We think before we act," Tristan scoffed, watching Tea roll her eyes. 'Since when does she think we don't think before we act? This is the first time I've heard of this.'

"Name one time Tea. Just name one time," Duke said, eager to hear what Tea's answer would be.

"Remember the time I told you guys that if you needed me to call my cell phone as my instructor wanted my dance partner and I to try to dance in different surroundings?"

"Yeah."

Tea fought the urge to blow up then and there as last time they said they didn't remember her telling them that information. "You didn't then. You both went to the park and when you saw my partner and I practicing, you automatically assumed he was feeling up on me even though I told you that my instructor wanted the entire class to practice the Argentine tango and add our own flavors to it."

"It was kind of your fault Tea. You told us before breakfast," Tristan replied as the incidents of what happened. "You know how we can be without food in us."

"I know you guys have midnight snacks so don't pull the breakfast card on me. You're just lucky my dance partner decided not to sue since I'm like a little sister to him," Tea shot back, in disbelief that they pulled the breakfast card again. They always did that to prove their side of the felt someone tapping her shoulder, making her nearly jump. She turned to see Mana standing there, a huge smile on her face while it appeared that she was trying hard not to laugh. Tea's eyes grew wide when she noticed almost everyone, with the exception of Atem, Seto and who Tea guessed was Rebecca, had the same expression as Mana.

She forgot about the others.

Tea's cheeks flamed red, turning her face away from everyone's gazes.

"Oh don't be embarrassed Tea. It's actually really funny to see you three interact and it brings some excitement around here. Those three over there don't know what's funny is even if it hit them in the face," Mana chirped, all the laughter inside of her escaping in small giggles.

Rebecca, folding her arms against the beautiful amber dress she wore, scoffed.

"Mana we'd all like to be carefree as you but you have to finish scouting remember?" Rebecca said, a stern look on her face. "Just because they come doesn't mean you can forget your duties."

Mana quickly rushed over to Atem, getting on her knees and then wrapping her arms around his. She looked up at him with the biggest puppy dog eyes and pout she could muster.

"My king, my good friend, Atem. Can I please, please stay here with Tea and the two? I can give them a tour around the castle and make them feel more comfortable since they're going to be living here with us for who knows how long. And I don't want to let them suffer from Rebecca giving them a tour."

"Excuse me? Yugi let go!" Rebecca screeched, a red glow erupting around her. The man in the dark blue robe, also wearing a blue head decoration with the crimson ornaments, had his arm around her waist. A nervous smile was on his lips.

"Rebecca calm down. Think about it, if Mana stays then you and I can go in her place. Didn't you say you want to check out the fire lilies that grow in the mountains?" Yugi said in a soothing tone, trying to calm Rebecca down. The red glow faded, as well as the look on her face. A smile was now formed on her lips as she wove her hand around Yugi's. Yugi looked over to his brother, who had a small smirk on his face. Atem always did find it amusing how quickly Yugi could calm down the ball of fire.

"We can go in Mana's place Atem, if you don't mind that is," Yugi said, hoping his brother would say yes. He seriously didn't want Rebecca to set someone on fire because she couldn't control her temper.

Atem nodded, the small smirk still on his face. "Go ahead. Mana, you're not going to be here alone. Joey, Serenity and Mokuba are going to stay here with you to help out with Tea, Tristan and Duke."

"Kuri-kuri!" cried out Kuriboh, his eyes narrowed.

"And Kuriboh too. Try not to get lost please."

Mana let go of Atem's legs and saluted him before flying over to Tea, Tristan and Duke who now had Serenity, Mokuba and Kuriboh standing with them. Mana flew quickly back, floating in front of Mahad. She gave him a quick peck on the cheek before heading back to the others. They watched everybody fly out of the castle or simply walked away to head to the dragons, not wanting to waste their energy by using magic.

"So where do you guys want to head to?" Mokuba asked as Kuriboh was bumping himself against Duke and Tristan playfully.

"The kitchen. We need some grub in our bellies," Tristan whined slightly, his arms folding across his stomach.

"Yeah. We're men after all," agreed Duke, his hands shoved into his pockets. Tea's palm was now against her forehead again as she sighed.

"We could get a small snack. But I have no idea what to do for dinner. Mahad and Atem will probably be too tired to use their magic from patrolling. Joey do you think you could make dinner tonight?" asked Mana when she looked at Joey. Joey smirked, giving her a thumbs up.

"Can do Mana. I could figure look through da cookbooks da chefs left a long time ago. I just wish dey didn't become food and run off."

Tea thought about Joey's words, the castle and everybody's demeanors. She wanted to know how long from these people have they been like this, untouched by the outside world until today.

"Before we begin the tour, how long have you guys been like this?" Tea asked, everybody's attention on her.

Mana, Serenity, Mokuba and Joey were staring at each other silent for a bit, as if they were afraid to give Tea the answer.

"Well right now according to the date we found in Tristan's memories, we've been like this for about two hundred years," Serenity answered calmly as if the thought of being in her current form about two hundred years didn't bother her. "That makes us really old I guess."

"You better listen to us since we're your elders," Mana joked, wagging her finger at Tristan and Duke. "Mokuba, you're going to help Joey make dinner for tonight."

Mokuba's mouth gaped, folding his arms across his chest. Kuriboh whined, now rubbing himself affectionately against Tea.

"But I want to go with you guys on the tour."

Serenity kneeled in front of Mokuba, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Your job can be to help Joey out with dinner. And maybe you could give Tea a tour of the gardens if Atem says you can."

Mokuba nodded, going over to Joey with Kuriboh trailing after him. "Come on Joey. The sooner we go, the sooner we can start making dinner."

All the girls smiled as they watched Joey, Mokuba and Kuriboh leave the room quickly, with excitement.

Serenity turned towards Duke and Tristan, finding them staring at her with weird expressions on their faces. She heard two quiet feminine giggles, coming from Tea and Mana. Serenity turned towards the two other females, a confused expression on her face.

"We'll tell you later Serenity. Now what are you going to show us first?" answered Tea, as all of them were leaving out of the throne room and back into the entrance where two elegant staircases were at, leading to the upper floors.

"How to get to your bedrooms without relying on us," Mana replied playfully.

* * *

><p>They never got lost (probably because Mana didn't use magic to create shortcuts) when they were doing the tour. Now the five that went on the tour was heading into the dining room, the smell of dinner luring them in. Mana told the other four that everyone else was in the dining room, waiting for them to join the rest. Tea noticed that Atem was sitting at the head of the surprisingly small table, Mahad to his left while Yugi was on his right. Rebecca sat next to Yugi, while Seto was sitting between two empty seats near Rebecca. When Serenity got closer to the table, Seto got up from his seat and held out his hand to her. She took it gingerly, a smile on her face as he led her to her seat, pulling out her chair for her. Mahad also led Mana to her seat while Tea was about to just pick a random seat when Atem was suddenly in front of her. His hand was extended towards her, Tea looking up at him.<p>

"Would you like for me to show you your seat for tonight?" Atem asked Tea, waiting for her to reply. Tea nodded, placing her hand in Atem's. As he led her to her seat, Tristan and Duke followed. They knew that they had to sit by Tea and also they were making sure Atem wasn't going to pull a thing. When everybody was seated, Joey came in with Mokuba, smiling.

"Dinner is done but we're going to begin the meal with some soup. You know what to do Mana," Joey said, winking at Mana. Mana nodded, snapping her fingers. A bowl appeared in front of everyone while baskets of bread were in the middle of the table.

"I helped with making the ramen soup," Mokuba said as he took the other empty seat near Seto.

"Now I know it's safe to eat," Seto said, a smirk on his face. Joey made a fist at him as he took his spot between Serenity and Mai.

"I love ramen," Tea said, sending a smile towards Mokuba. He smiled back at her before looking at his soup.

"Well let's start eating," Yugi said as he reached for some bread. Tristan and Duke eagerly started digging into the bread, before dipping it into the ramen soup. Suddenly a noodle inched out of the soup, waving itself like an enchanted snake. Everybody's silverware dropped as noodles from Tea's and Duke's bowls slowly followed Tristan's noodles movements.

Tristan and Duke screamed in a high pitch, jumping away from the table, knocking the dishes around them onto the ground. They grabbed Tea's chair, pulling it back as if to save her from the noodles. When they thought they were far enough, they saw that Tea wasn't in the chair. They saw her kneeling next to the mess they made, picking up the silverware that was on the ground.

"They're just noodles. There's no reason to- ouch!" Tea muttered when she was reaching for a spoon. She brought her hand up to her, finding a jagged cut from below her index finger to the middle of her palm. Blood oozed out of the cut, appearing as a slow moving crimson waterfall. Leather fingers slowly appeared in her vision, wrapping themselves around hers gently. Tea's hand was brought closer to the owner of the fingers, looking up to see Atem's crimson eyes locked onto her hand.

"You should be more careful," Atem said as he brought up his other hand. Tea noticed that it was emitting a blue like circle around it. As his hand moved over to the cut, a faint bright light surrounded them both. Tea's eyes widened at the light but she saw that Atem had no type of reaction what so ever. The light slowly faded away, the feeling of warmth lingering in the air however. Atem slowly rose, Tea also rising as Atem had not let go of her hand. She looked at her hand, finding the cut and blood completely gone. "How d-did you do that?" Tea stuttered, completely awed that her hand had no evidence of ever being sliced open.

Atem's lips curled into a small smirk, before he let go of her hand. "I healed you. Unless you rather have wanted the cut to heal itself, the cut could have become infected."

Atem looked over towards everyone else, finding Joey and Mokuba with their heads hung down in shame as Mahad had his arms folded across his chest.

"You two got into my cabinet didn't you?" Mahad asked, causing Joey and Mokuba's head to snap up and point at each other.

"Joey messed up on the ramen so he started going through everything. All I did was suggest that you could have something Mahad," Mokuba said, looking innocent as he sat in the giant chair. Joey sat there with his mouth, gaped open.

"Traitor," Joey muttered, earning him a few snickers.

"Did you use it in other foods?" Yugi asked, a little afraid.

"No."

"Well then lets bring out dinner."

Mahad snapped his fingers and plates appeared in front of everyone. Everybody's eye twitched when they what was on their plates. They could tell that it was supposed to be roasted meat, which they were fine with that. The problem was that it was covered with a red like substance that was creating a sizzling sound and appeared to be pulsating.

"Flame boy what is this?" Seto growled, pushing Mokuba's and Serenity's plates away from them, before they even tried to take a bite.

"Roasted beef with my signature sauce."

Tea, Tristan, Duke Rebecca and Joey were the only ones who didn't push the plates away from their view.

"The spicy sauce? Yum!" Rebecca chirped before she took a bite of her dinner. As Tea was about to take a bite, Mai quickly yanked the food away from her, giving it to Tristan and Duke who seemed to be unbothered by the sauce.

"There's no way you're eating that hun. We wouldn't want you to burn off that pretty tongue of yours. Tristan and Duke on the other hand though," Mai said giving the plate to them. "I wonder how they can handle it since the first time we all had it, well those who tried, couldn't speak for awhile. Anyways Mahad, make something new for us."

* * *

><p>Mahad made a less spicy dinner for everyone with no magic added in it. After almost sampling every dessert and noticing the time, everyone decided it would be best to go to bed now. Even though Tea felt like she had gotten a lot of sleep already today, when her head hit the pillow, she was quickly lulled to sleep by the cackling of the fire. Yet while she was sleeping soundly, her cousin was not. Tristan laid in his bed, tossing and turning often. Fed up, he jumped out of his bed and darted over towards Duke. Tristan saw the Duke was also tossing and turning on the bed.<p>

"Dude are you awake?" Tristan asked, shaking Duke. Duke sat up, shoving the blankets aside.

"Of course I'm awake! Do you really think I could sleep here, in a place with those freaks?" Duke hissed, glaring at his friend.

Tristan shook his head, resisting the urge to hit his friend. "I can't sleep here either. My Miho could be in danger at this very moment! That's why I was thinking about escaping this place by going the same way we came in."

Duke blinked a few times, before jumping out of the bed too. He ripped the sheets off the beds along with finding other fabrics and began tying them together, creating a long, multicolored rope.

"We can't leave through the front entrance so you're gonna have to go get Tea and try not to wake her up. You know she screams when she's woken up too roughly."

Tristan nodded, dashing out of the room into the hallway. He was really glad that those freaks, well one very pretty girl and the freaks had their bedrooms in totally different wings. When he was in front of Tea's room, he opened the door slowly, finding the room dimly lit by the dying fire. Tristan slowly inched towards the slumbering form of Tea, his arms sliding underneath Tea. He lifted her up gently to avoid her waking up. He heard someone entering the room, becoming completely frozen.

"It's just me dude. Calm down," Duke whispered before he went over to Tea's bed, pulling off the sheets to add them to the rope. "Grab some long fabric. You're gonna have to tie Tea to your back while we make our escape."

Tristan nodded and gently put Tea into Duke's arms, turning around to allow Duke to put Tea on his back. Once Duke made sure Tea was laying comfortably on Tristan's back, he tied fabric around her, tight enough that she wouldn't fall off. Duke opened the window, throwing one end of the multi colored rope over the edge while tying the other end to the bed. He tugged at the rope, finding that the bed wouldn't budge at all.

"Perfect," Duke smirked as he inched towards the window. "I'm going to go first. That way if you slip, I can at least save you both."

Tristan nodded as he watched Duke step onto the window ledge and slowly disappear from his view. When he saw the rope twitch twice, he climbed onto the window ledge carefully. He slowly inched down the rope, grunting along the way. When his feet touched the ground, Tristan had to contain himself from releasing a joyous whoop into the air as he saw Duke rolling his eyes.

"Come on dude. We don't want those freaks to wake up and catch us. They could lock us up in a tower for all we know!"

"You're right. Let's go," Tristan replied, dashing off into the forest with Duke. Little did they know that something was lurking in the forest, waiting for them as growling and the sound of faint chuckling removed the silence of the night.

* * *

><p><em>Nearly 5k for chapter four. I apologize for the late update again. Anyways for those who haven't read ARW, I made two announcements on it. One is the fact that I'm going to be gone for 10 days visiting some family so I won't be able to work on chapter five of this story. The second is that now I'm judging which story gets more reviews for the newest update, I'll work on updating that story first. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as I'm curious to see which story I'll be working first when I get back ;) <em>

_Oh by the way, Mokuba is Apprentice Magician and Kuriboh is like the pet in the story. _


	5. Chapter 5

**So I finally updated the winner of the contest I had and it was Dancing into the Magician's Heart! Sorry that you have been forced to wait for me to update but alot of things came up. Some was mentioned in _Never Alone _but others weren't. I'm starting school soon so I've been busy trying to prepare for getting up at 5:30am again! Whoopee. Anyways enjoy chapter 5 :D**

**I own nothing! **

* * *

><p>He knew something was wrong when he heard movement in the other side of the castle. When he looked out the window, he saw two shadow figures dashing off into the forest. The forest where monsters his masters feared and somewhat despised. Kuriboh quietly flew out of Mokuba's room, happy that Mokuba was a heavy sleeper right now. There was no candles or any source of light whatsoever to illuminate the hallways for any of them. But this didn't matter as Kuriboh knew his way to the other masters' rooms if they weren't at breakfast. Kuriboh approached the bedroom door to the master of the other masters, scraping his claws against the door.<p>

"Kuri-kri!" Kuriboh cried, hoping to wake the master sleeping inside. He stopped his actions, listening for any movement. Kuriboh's eyes narrowed when he heard none, angry that the noises he made did nothing to wake the master up. Kuriboh darted to the other side of the hallway, directly across the master's door. Kuriboh huffed, rubbing his claws together. "Kuri…Kri…KURI!"

Kuriboh flew straight at the door with all the speed he could muster, determined that he will wake up the master. Kuriboh felt dizzy as a poof of white smoke surrounded him, his green eyes swirling. He blinked a few times to get rid of the dizziness as the smoke cleared away. Kuriboh looked around and found the master sleeping in the bed, unaffected by the noise Kuriboh made. Kuriboh's eyes lit up as he now could finally finish his goal, when he realized something. As he was trying to fly, he would not move at all. He was stuck in the door!

Kuriboh started wiggling slowly while flailing his little claws in the air. He huffed when he saw that the master didn't move at all, the master's breathing indicated that he was in a deep sleep. Kuriboh pushed himself out of the door, flying straight at the master's face. Kuriboh rubbed himself against the master's face, knowing that this method often worked with him.

"Let me sleep Kuriboh," the master muttered, turning away from the brown fur ball after attempting to swat Kuriboh away. Kuriboh's eyes narrowed again, his rage growing inside. The master shouldn't have done that.

Kuriboh grabbed two locks of the master's black hair and tugged at it HARD with all of his might.

That seemed to work as the master jolted up from his bed then grabbed Kuriboh, who was still clinging onto his hair.

"Kuriboh, not many people would live after pulling the king's hair especially when it's late at night. Why would you wake me up at this ungodly hour?" Atem asked, his voice hinting that he was clearly pissed.

Kuriboh let go of Atem's hair, wiggling to get Atem to let him go. "Kri! Kri!"

Atem looked at the door, his mouth slightly agape. A giant hole the size of Kuriboh was there along with clumps of fur. Atem let Kuriboh go, opening the door.

"You ruined my bedroom door."

Kuriboh rolled his eyes before grabbing a lock of Atem's hair again and pulled gently this time towards the wing where the humans were living. Atem's eyebrow arched, wondering why was Kuriboh trying to get him to go to that wing.

"Kuriboh what is go-," Atem asked until he felt what was making Kuriboh act like this. Atem darted towards Tea's bedroom, leaving Kuriboh to cling onto Atem's hair for dear life. Atem swung the door wide open, slamming against the wall roughly.

"No," Atem whispered, seeing the makeshift rope dangling from the window. Atem rushed to the window, knowing all full well which way they went. Atem slammed his fist against the pane of the window, cracking it. Kuriboh whined slightly, afraid of his master's anger. The master hardly ever got mad. "Kuriboh go back to bed now and do not wake anyone else up. I will be back."

Atem leapt out of the window, disappearing into the dark, menacing forest. Kuriboh knew he should obey the master of masters otherwise he would not get his treats for a long time.

* * *

><p>"Come on man, just admit it. We're lost aren't we?" Duke muttered as they approached a tall, magnificent oak tree. Eight marks made with a sharp rock they found, were engraved into the tree. Tristan shook his head, walking into a direction that wasn't illuminated by the moon.<p>

"We're not lost. I only lead us back here to make sure that it's still there," Tristan growled quietly, not wanting to disturb his sleeping cousin that was on his back. How she was still asleep, he didn't know. "We haven't tried this way yet. I think I hear water!"

Tristan started dashing towards where the sound was coming from. Tristan wasn't being cautious anymore as a root of a tree was sticking out the ground, tripping him easily. Tristan cursed as his body slammed into the ground, he managed to angle his body in time so that he wouldn't land on Tea by accident. Duke rushed over to them, finding Tea a few feet away from Tristan. Tea groaned quietly, turning onto her side. When her hand reached out, she grabbed a plant. Her eyes shot open, sitting up quickly. She turned her head to her left, then her right as she observed the scenery around her. Tea then looked over where Tristan and Duke were at.

"Please tell me this is a dream," Tea ordered, her arms folding across her chest.

Tea waited for them to give her an answer, but the boys stayed perfectly still and silent. Duke's finger was pointed over her shoulder, moving urgently. Tea blinked a few times before turning around to see what Duke was pointing at. There stood a few inches behind her were about ten tall, muscular human looking men. Their eyes were a bright orange color, staring at the three of them hungrily. The color of their dark green hair reminded Tea of when Tristan got food poisoning and spent most of his time throwing up the contents of his stomach.

One of them was suddenly in front of her, its fist grabbing onto locks of her hair.

"Well look at what we found boys. Dinner and dessert," The thing chuckled, pulling Tea's head back as he got a good look at her. "What do you think?"

Two of the creatures now had Tristan and Duke in their grasps, smirking as the two tried to struggle.

"Let her go you overgrown thing!" Tristan yelled, trying to get away from the creature. It didn't have a pleasant odor at all. The creature in response only tightened his hold on Tristan, its arm wrapping around his neck.

"We're ogres pal. The kind that likes the dark," The one behind the ogre holding Tea chuckled.

The ogre that had Tea smirked before lowering his head to Tea's neck. His tongue brushed past his lips, the tip making contact with Tea's neck. He slowly dragged his tongue from her neck to her cheek, savoring the taste of fear as Tea whimpered.

"Delicious," The ogre whispered before throwing his head back in laughter. The other ogres soon joined him in the maniacal laughter until they felt a huge source of energy heading their way.

A immense blue orb was charging their way, bolts of electricity were dancing around the orb. The ogres' eyes widened when they saw the path of destruction the orb left behind, jumping out of the way when it got closer to them. The ogre that had Tea knocked the wind out of her, his hand gripping tighter around her throat.

"Let them go," A voice ordered. The tone behind it was sending chills up Tea, Tristan and Duke's spines. The ogres seemed unfazed however, searching for what direction the voice was coming from.

"Show yourself!" One of the ogres cried out, angry that they could not find the person due to all the smoke rising from the destruction. The ogre froze when he went something hit the back of his neck, the last feeling he would ever feel as he slumped onto his knees. The other ogres' eyes widened in fear, except for the ones who had the three humans in their grasps.

"GAH!" An ogre cried out in agony, clawing at his arms. "Get them off!"

The ogre then fell forward into the dirt, his eyes rolling into the back of his head.

"I ordered for you to let them go," The voice hissed, snapping a few twigs as the source got closer to them. The smoke faded when a rush of air ripped through, revealing the source of the voice.

"King Atem!" Tea cried out, wincing when the ogre tightened his grip on her throat.

The ogre stood frozen, watching Atem point his staff directly at he and his men. Then he threw his head back, laughing as he pulled Tea closer to them.

"We don't listen to you King Atem. We follow our master's orders," The ogre sneered, taking a few steps back. What Atem didn't know however, was that the ogre was secretly signaling his men with the shadows. "Attack!"

Dark, disfigured masses flew quickly towards Atem as he attempted to blast away the dark masses. Tristan and Duke looked at each other, hearing a sort of booming sound coming from Atem's direction.

"Do you think he's alright man?" Tristan whispered, quiet enough so the two ogres didn't hear him.

Duke shrugged, his eyes darting back to the dark area. "It doesn't matter. We're supposed to be trying to escape remember?"

"Yeah I know but look at Tea."

Duke looked over to Tea, surprised when he noticed she looked like she was near tears, something he had only seen maybe twice since he had met her. Why did she care for these people when they weren't normal, not even human to be exact? He snapped out of his thoughts when they heard it, a groan and a loud thump.

"No, please no," Tea whispered as the darkness around Atem slowly slipped away from him and back to their respective ogres. The remaining ogres smirked at the site of Atem, kneeling before them. He was panting heavily despite his crimson eyes blazing with fierceness.

"Brone, he's a strong one," The ogre holding Tristan said as they watched Atem attempt to stand up with his staff. Brone scoffed as he shoved Tea into another ogre's arms, walking towards Atem. Brone looked down at Atem, a sinister smirk appeared on his face as he grabbed Atem by the hair and forced the king to look up at him. His dark shadow slowly inched away from the trees before launching itself onto Atem's right shoulder.

Atem hissed in pain, making Brone frown slightly. With a snap of his fingers, the shadow's form changed from a small dark mass, into a much larger one with deadlier effects. A faint sizzle rang through everyone's ears, exciting the ogres while also sending fear throughout Tea, Tristan and Duke. Atem was now hunched over, groaning from the pain as the sizzling got louder and the shadow grew larger, nearly reaching to his stomach. Brone snapped his fingers again, the shadow darting towards it's master. Tristan and Duke's eyes widened as they saw what the shadow had done. Atem's shoulder was exposed and instead of seeing his dark azure skin there, a lighter shade of blue raw skin adorned his shoulder along with a few popping blisters.

Brone smirk grew wider as he delivered a kick to Atem's injury and ribs. A sickening crack startled Tea as she watched Atem fade into unconscious from the pain.

"Leave him alone!" Tea screamed as she struggled to get free. Brone strode over to her, his face showing satisfaction.

"Hold her Keegan. Keep her perfectly still."

Keegan obliged, locking Tea into a tight grip. Brone placed one of his dirty hands on her cheek, keeping her still as he drew his other hand back. It quickly made contact with Tea's cheek as the sound of impact rang throughout the forest and the souls of Duke and Tristan as they screamed profanities at Brone. Tea's head slumped forward, her dark hair covering her sapphire eyes.

"Looks like I tamed the wild woman boys," Brone snickered, as he brushed back a few strands of Tea's hair. Tea's head snapped up, her sapphire eyes blazing. The ogres' eyes grew wide as a surge of energy began pounding in their skulls. One by one, an ogre's eyes rolled back into his head, leaving Brone to be the last one remaining as his body slumped onto the ground.

"What are you?" Brone whispered, in awe of Tea. Tristan and Duke were confused, wondering if the dude was nuts. Didn't the ogre know she was human?

Another burst of energy blasted through his skull, leaving him unconscious. Tea blinked a few times, looking at all the ogres laying on the ground. Then her eyes rested upon the king, his black hair reflecting the moonlight.

"King Atem!" Tea cried as she ran to him, gracefully running as she moved through the narrow paths the ogres' bodies made. Tristan and Duke stood there, as they watched Tea kneel next to the fallen king. The girl who normally was frantic at the site of a bruise or scratch on either of the two, was silent. They watched her gently wrap an arm around his waist, gingerly lifting him up as they noticed there was pieces of dirt clumped onto his wound.

"Please be ok," Tea whispered as she attempted to stand up with the king. She grunted quietly as she tried, her efforts providing no results. Duke turned away, ready to leave when Tristan placed his hand on his shoulder.

"We can't leave her alone here Duke."

"Dude, she's your cousin, so why don't you just grab her and then we can leave," Duke snapped, his eyes darting over to Tea as she continued to try to lift up Atem.

"I can't man. My cousin doesn't leave people behind and I won't abandon her when she needs me the most," Tristan replied as he jogged over to Tea and Atem. He pulled out a ruby with ivory lacing handkerchief he was going to give to Miho and handed it to Tea. "Get most of the dirt off first Tea. We don't want it to get too infected."

Tea smiled gratefully at her cousin before taking the handkerchief from and slowly started moving the lumps of dirt off Atem's wound. She would stop her movements when Atem would flinch, but his eyes never opened.

"I got most of the dirt off. It looks worse now."

Tristan nodded before slipping his arm around Atem. He expected to feel Tea's arms near his but when he turned to look where she was, he found Duke in her place.

"Like if I'd leave you two behind," Duke scoffed as he sent a small smirk at Tristan and Tea. "Now I have a question you guys."

"What?" Tea asked as she gently removed Atem's hat off his head so it wouldn't poke Tristan's or Duke's eyes out.

"How are we going to get back to the castle?"

For a few moments nobody said a word until Tristan and Duke's eyes bugged out,realizing Tea didn't have an answer.

"Are you kidding me?" They yelled, forgetting about the unconscious king that they were supporting up. Tea shook her head, huffing when she shifted her weight while holding Atem's hat.

"Kuri-Kri!" A voice shrilled out, causing everyone to look around them. A brown blur flew itself at Tea, nearly making the poor girl drop the hat.

"Kuriboh?"

"Kri!" The delighted monster squealed as it nuzzled itself against Tea's cheek. Tea giggled as his fur slightly tickled her.

"Kuriboh can you take us back to the castle? King Atem was wounded by the ogres that are on the ground and we'd really like to leave before they wake up," Tea said as Kuriboh floated back away from her slightly. Kuriboh nodded, heading towards the direction he came from as Tea followed behind Tristan and Duke as they lugged Atem with them.

* * *

><p>"Set him on the bed," Tea ordered as Kuriboh had led them into a room that simply had a bed, a nightstand, table and a small fireplace that was connected to a room that had shelves of strange liquids and scattered books on desks. Tea guessed that this is where they practiced or studied spells, created potions and such. She placed Atem's hat on the table as Tristan and Duke laid Atem on the bed. Kuriboh had left the room in a quick pace when Tristan pointed out that the king had broken out into a fever. The brown, lovable fur ball returned with a bowl of cold water and a few cloths soaking. Tea gingerly took the bowl of water and set it on the nightstand as Duke and Tristan started working on the fireplace. Tea rang out the cloth and placed it on Atem's forehead as Kuriboh disappeared into the other room. Kuriboh came back with two different sized vials. The larger one had dark turquoise liquid in it while the smaller one had a shade of pink she only saw on cherry blossom trees in the spring. Tea took the two vials and examined them both.<p>

"Which ones are these for?" Tea asked, having one vial in each hand. Kuriboh touched the vial with the turquoise liquid inside with his claw then pointed at Atem's wound. "So the vial with the pink liquid is for his fever?"

Kuriboh nodded when Duke now stood behind Tea and took the small vial from her hand.

"How do we know the fur ball isn't lying to us? For all we know he could be planning something."

Kuriboh's eyes narrowed and lifted up his claw at Duke when Tea placed her hand on Kuriboh.

"Why would he want to hurt his master? I trust him and you should too especially since he got us out of that forest you dragged me into," Tea snapped at Duke as she grabbed another wet cloth and started wiping away the dried mud. To her utter surprise, almost all the blisters were gone and about one third of Atem's wound was no longer there. Kuriboh handed her a dry cloth, which Tea quickly dosed with the turquoise liquid. Gently, she put it on Atem, a bit on the edge that any moment he would jump up and blast them with magic. Nothing happened.

"Hey Tea. Do you think the fur ball can take us back to your room then to ours?" Tristan asked cautiously. There was no way he wanted to be the next victim of Tea's snapping. Tea turned to Kuriboh, who was glaring at Duke and Tristan.

"Kuriboh, do you think you can escort those two to my ro- Wait why do you need to go to my room first?"

"We can't sleep without bed sheets," Duke answered.

"What do you mean you can't sleep without bed sheets?"

"We can't sleep without them. We used them to make the rope."

A large vein was pulsating on Tea's forehead as she went back to work on Atem's wound. "I'm sure Kuriboh wouldn't mind taking you back. Would you Kuriboh?"

"Kuri," Kuriboh replied as he left the room with Tristan and Duke in tow.

The only sounds that filled the room were the cracking of the fire and water sloshing as Tea would replace the cool cloth on Atem's forehead with another one. Before Tea could even reach over and take out the cork of the pink vial, her wrist was now covered by something black. The black mass was squeezing tightly, but not enough to cause her pain. Tea gasped when her eyes came into contact with hazy crimson eyes of the king.

"What are you doing?" Atem whispered as he flinched. The newly healed skin of his shoulder was stretching as he focused on squeezing Tea's wrist.

"You got hurt trying to protect my friend, my cousin and I King Atem," Tea explained, relaxing when his grip on her wrist loosened enough for her to push him back onto the bed. Neither spoke for a few moments, crimson and sapphire eyes locked in an eternal gaze.

"I wouldn't have been hurt if you and those two idiots had decided to leave the castle when you knew perfectly well there was no chance of you being able to leave the Domain of Beasts," Atem snapped as his eyes search the room. Of all places, she had to take him to this room? "How did you escape those ogres then managing to back to the castle?"

"First of all, how dare you accuse me! I wasn't the one who decided to leave! You are a presumptuous man for saying that to a lady especially when you are supposed to be a king!"

"I can accuse someone such as yourself for leaving when you knew how dangerous it is out there."

"Just because you're the king doesn't grant you any rights you egotistical jerk. If it wasn't for me, you'd probably be laying on the forest ground still and those ogres could have decided to eat you!"

"How did you escape?"

Tea sighed as she ran her hand through her hair before grabbing the pink vial again. "I don't know. One minute they were all awake, laughing as Brone attacked you when you were unconscious then the next they were all on the guard. I rushed over to you immediately."

Atem was silent as a sudden wave of drowsiness surged through him. 'Perhaps I shouldn't have continued using magic to heal myself after that battle.'

"Kuriboh came to us and lead us back to the castle then to this room. He brought me two vials, one for your wound and the other for your fever. Kuriboh took those two that you claim to be idiots back to their bedrooms."

Said fur ball floated into the room, nearly bumping into Tea who had the pink vial in her hands.

"Kuriboh, I had told you to go back to bed," Atem muttered as he watched Tea pour the pink liquid into a small cup.

"Kuri," Kuriboh replied as he watched Tea help Atem drink the pink liquid. Tea assumed that the king knew what the pink liquid was as he made no attempt to stop Tea or warn her that Kuriboh accidentally gave her the wrong potion.

"Kuriboh, take Tea back to her bedroom please," Atem ordered as he laid back on the bed. Kuriboh, who was slightly concerned, was about to protest when he saw the female human was fighting to keep her eyes opened.

"What? You honestly believe I'm going to leave you?" Tea screeched, her hands resting firmly against the bed. Atem extended his hand to her forehead, his fingers pushing her bangs to the side. Tea froze in her spot when she felt a dull sensation, the urge to fall asleep spreading throughout her body. Her sapphire eyes fluttered close, her body slack as she leaned too far to the left. Kuriboh quickly got there in time, holding her up effectively.

"Kuriboh, make sure she is safe and secure in her bed tonight then you must go back to bed before Mokuba wakes up and finds you missing," Atem whispered before his crimson eyes closed shut. Kuriboh and Tea then disappeared within seconds, being teleported directly into Tea's room from Atem's magic. As the king fell asleep, intricate designs of swirls of black appeared. It surrounded a dark, pulsating symbol that would send panic within his friends. It was the symbol of evil.

* * *

><p>Slowly one by one, the ogres raised themselves off the ground, groaning or swearing underneath their breaths.<p>

"Where they hell did they go?" Brone yelled, noticing the king nor the three humans were no longer there.

"How should I know? The last thing I remember was feeling something moving through my head," replied Keegan as he rubbed his forehead.

"You fools! What are you doing? I didn't order you all to fool around!" A voice hissed loudly as a harsh breeze rustled leaves and sent each animal that was searching for food to return home.

"Master, we had a confrontation with the King," Keegan answered, kneeling. A cloaked figure stepped out of the shadows, its eyes standing out.

"There was only one of him! How can one defeat all of you?" The cloaked figure sneered, watching all the ogres quickly kneel before them. "My lord you see he wasn't alone I-" Brone replied when a pale disfigured hand with gnarly nails dug it's way into Brone's head. Brone's eyes widened as all of the events from finding the humans until his last moment of consciousness flashed in a matter of seconds. The cloaked figure's hand pulled back, faint growls could be heard, frightening the ogres more as they watched Brone slump back onto the ground once more.

'No! This ruins my plans!' The cloaked figure thought, the image of a beautiful sapphire eyed woman reappeared in his mind. 'On the contrary, that woman could be useful.'

"My faithful loyal servants, do not fear as Brone is merely worn out from I observing his memories. Do you all remember that female human? With the blue eyes?"

Each remaining ogre nodded, knowing full well what could happen if they had said no.

"She is special to that awful king who turned you all into what you are now. If we have on her side, he would do anything without much hesitation to have her back. She is the one who will save us all."

"Should we take her now my lord?" An ogre named Damon asked, his head bowed low.

"No my servants. We will wait until the perfect moment arrives. Come we shall now leave," The cloaked figure replied, turning away from his servants as he disappeared into the shadows once more.

"That woman must be under my control. Time will tell when she will be in my arms and my key to power."

* * *

><p><strong>So that's chapter five! I hope you all enjoyed this as I spent a long time to work on this as you all know I treat my stories like my babies :) Anyways for those who have forgotten, after I update ARW, I will see which story got more reviews and will update the winner again<strong> **before the other one. Please leave a review as I love them so very much ;)**

**The ogres are Ogre of the Black Shadow **


	6. Chapter 6

**So here is Chapter 6 of Dancing into the Magician's Heart! I know it's been almost two months since I updated it but at least I updated it! Anyways before I end up going into a long rant, here is chapter 6 of Dancing into the Magician's Heart. Enjoy :D **

**As usual, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! or anything related to it. I own nothing! **

* * *

><p>Strains of the sunlight escaped past the dark amber curtains of the window in Yugi's room. Rebecca had picked these curtains out for him even though they did not share a bedroom like the other couples (Joey does not know to this day that Seto and Serenity shared a room), as she wanted to have her own space when she needed it. Still, she would come into his room at night whenever she wanted to. Yugi rubbed his eyes when the sunlight hit him, sitting up when the grandfather clock in his room informed him that it was nearly seven o'clock in the morning. He blinked a few times before jumping out of bed, remembering that he and his brother made plans for today. They were going to train together as lately they had not been able to with some increased activity within the villages.<p>

"Wait, Atem usually wakes me up before seven when it to comes training," Yugi muttered as he stood in front of his bed. Yugi's eyes widened as he dashed out of his bedroom, not caring about the door slamming against the wall. As he darted down towards his brother's room, he was wondering if his brother was sick or something. But then again, Atem was never one to get sick and have himself subjected to people treating him as a precious object. He was about to knock on the door, just as a precautionary. That is when he noticed the large gaping hole in his brother's door. Yugi kneeled down to peek through the hole, believing it would be a bit odd to open it. His eyes widened when he did not see his brother there along with his staff. Yugi ran to Mahad's door, opening it without knocking.

"Mahad!" Yugi yelled, wakening the purple haired magician. Mahad slowly sat up, his eyes slightly foggy. His chest was bare before he snapped his fingers and his outfit was on him. It's what all of the spell casters did when they realized that they couldn't take off their clothes due to the curse. They came up with a spell that allowed them to cast a sort of illusion with the clothing that allowed them not to feel the original outfit at all. Luckily, for them, Mana preferred nightgowns and was a heavy sleeper otherwise; she would be kicking Yugi out.

"Do you have any idea what time it is Yugi?" Mahad yawned as he stepped out of the bed.

"I know its early Mahad but my brother isn't in his room at all. It's the day we are training together and he never has forgotten to wake me up," Yugi explained frantically. He had no idea where his older brother was and it frightened him.

Mahad's eyes grew wide, quickly shaking Mana.

"Mana wake up," said Mahad as he shook the sleeping magician.

"Huh? What?" Mana muttered as her eyes fluttered open. She let out a big yawn, before sitting up. Feeling another presence, she looked to her right and found Yugi standing there.

"Gah! What are you doing in here?"

"The king is missing Mana. Inform Seto and everyone else while Yugi and I search for him," Mahad ordered before he and Yugi disappeared. Mana sat there, blinking a few times before Mahad's words sank it.

"HE'S MISSING?" Mana screamed to herself before jumping out her bed and running to the others' rooms. She pounded on each door until she heard movement then would move onto the next door. As she was pounding on Joey's door, she heard a small click coming from Seto's door. She launched herself away from Joey's door and turned to find Seto there, a scowl on his face.

"Mana please explain why did you create a loud ruckus on our bedroom doors? At this ungodly hour too? There is no reason for this." Seto demanded, a sleepy Serenity standing behind him as she rubbed her eyes.

"Seto calm down. She probably has a good reason for waking up this early right Mana?" Serenity murmured gently to Seto, placing a hand on his bare should. Instantly, his beautiful yet somewhat scary dragon armor appeared, making the scowl on his face fiercer.

"Atem…The king is missing," Mana whispered as Joey, Mai and Rebecca, all dressed in their original outfits, came out of their rooms too. Seto's eyes narrowed dangerously at Mana as everybody's eyes widened.

"What do you mean he's missing?" seethed Seto, his voice dangerously low. If he did not already look intimidating his heavily dark armor with bones protruding out of it, his voice made it all worse.

Mana gulped and spoke louder this time. "Yugi said he went into the king's room and didn't find his brother there. Mahad and Yugi are looking for him at this very moment."

"Everyone, you must start looking for the king," Seto ordered as he turned to leave. "Do not wake Mokuba or Kuriboh. We do not need to have them panicking over the location of the king as we will find him soon."

"Seto calm down," Joey said catching up to the dragon master. "Atem could have decided to head out early to train so Yugi could get some more rest."

Seto whipped around faster than Joey could blink, his azure eyes flaming in anger. They were brighter unlike any of the blue fires he had seen. Even if Joey had his prized sword, Seto's rage would help him win against a fight.

"Do not tell me to calm down Joseph," Seto warned, "You know well as I do that the King would not leave his brother behind. I would never leave Mokuba behind nor would you leave your sister behind so tell me what makes the King different."

Before Joey could reply, Seto had turned on his feet and disappeared from Joey's sight.

"He leaves no one behind Seto."

'This is bad, very bad,' Yugi thought as he stood at the top of the castle. His eyes fell upon the three swords, encased in ice that shimmered like glass when the sunlight hit it at the right angle. The beautiful shades of rainbow decorated the cold, grey stonewalls but today, nothing was happening. The height of the protective barrier of the swords never ceased to amaze them and it all that had appeared when the good Bakura had cast the other part of the curse. To them, everything was a mystery as to why the swords were here. What purpose did they serve? They did know however, there was a guardian for these swords and everyone remembered how they met her.

(Flashback)

"_King Atem! There is something new at the top of the castle!" Mana panted as she ran into the new practicing room where all the new spell casters, the older ones preferably, were training their new abilities. The new practicing room had all the furniture, valuables and decorations removed. It left only a dark, dingy room with the only means of light coming from the window or the orbs of white light someone had created. Mana, the new blonde-haired woman, had decided to skip practice and explore the castle. She did not expect to find many changes to the castle but what she had found proved her wrong. _

_Atem looked at the blonde-haired woman warily as did Yugi and her Mahad. Never had they seen Mana this frantic over a discovery even before the 'change'._

"_What do you mean Mana?" Yugi had asked as the petite magician was calming herself down. Mana rolled her eyes at the king's younger brother. Did she not just say what she meant?_

"_There is something at the top of the palace above the main entrance! Ice but it isn't melting, as ice should in this type of weather. I saw something inside of it too. I don't know what it is exactly, but it looks appears to be some type of weapon." _

_Atem disappeared before her eyes, as did Yugi. Left behind were small hints of black and blue magic, swirling in the air before it too disappeared. This startled the poor girl as her sapphire eyes widened in shock. _

_Mahad chuckled, his violent hair swaying slightly from the soft movement of his body. "It's a new spell we have been working on. If you were here for practice as you should have been, then you wouldn't have to rely on me Mana." _

_Mana stood still as the surroundings appeared to be melting away from her very eyes. She did not look up, down, to her left or right, fearing Mahad would no longer be there. _

"_Mana, we're at the top of the palace. I must say that what you had seen has never been seen before," Mahad whispered in the girl's ear. His voice hinted that he was in awe of the sight before him, perhaps more calm than Mana's reaction had been. The ice was taller than he was, Seto was or the king himself could ever be. _

"_I say you should let me burn it down King Atem," Joey had declared. "We all know Rebecca can't do it," he removed his glowing orange sword from his hip as small whirls of fire danced across it, "She's too tiny."_

_Rebecca had rolled her eyes at the overly confident swordsman. He had no right to doubt her._

"_I have more fire power than you ever will Joseph. Step aside," she ordered, her palms facing the ice barrier. Fire shot out of her palms, the fire reminding one of the fire-breathing dragons Seto had learned to control. Joey not wanting to be outdone joined Rebecca with melting away the ice. _

_The blues skies turned to a dull grey color as a chilly breeze in the air. Serenity and Mai wrapped their wings to themselves, a shiver rippling through their very core. _

"_Does anyone else have the feeling that this sudden change in weather is an omen of some sorts?" Serenity asked, burrowing herself into her wings further. Seto scoffed at Serenity's words. He may love her but that did not mean he could question her words. _

"_And what sort of omen would this be?" Seto questioned as he watched the fire from the two stubborn blondes, become concerted. _

"_Stop this at once!" A voice commanded as two dark clouds from the sky appeared right in front of Joey and Rebecca. Joey and Rebecca flew back into the stone columns. The sound of cracking stone resonated in the air from four feet away. Yugi and Mai quickly ran to their lovers' sides. Once they were there, they began searching for any sign of blood or torn flesh. One of the clouds had turned into a sickly green color that reminded some of the audience of when a nasty storm was affront. A muscular arm appeared on each side of the cloud, then a head the shape of a mushroom with a sinister scowl upon its face. The other cloud did not appear to take the same shape as this other cloud. The cloud turned into a more pale color of Rebecca's skin before the curse. The middle of the cloud expanded greatly, reminding everyone of the sun hidden by the grey clouds in the sky. The cloud formed somewhat gangly arms in comparison to its companion. As the head formed, a kind smile appeared along with the eyes. _

"_He looks so fluffy," Mana whispered, referring to the giant. "Do you think he would let me jump on him? I never jumped on a cloud before!"_

_A feminine voice chuckled between the two clouds as the two clouds floated aside quickly. A beautiful woman now stood between the two clouds. The women were jealous of this woman's beauty for they had never seen a woman like this before. Her long, ebony hair contrasted significantly against the kimono she wore, a pale ivory that was a shade or two darker than her skin. An emerald sash wrapped loosely around her waist but the gold belt fit perfectly at her hips. Two gold bangles were on each of her wrists, matching perfectly to the gold piece in the bun at the top of her head. The collar of one of the layers lined with gold, nearly hidden by the two strange necklaces she wore just as the six pieces of ornaments were in her hair. In her arms was a tiny cloud, pale gold. Its chocolate eyes and small smile almost had the women cooing at it. _

"_I was beginning to wonder when I would meet the king and his loyal bureaucracy that cursed their kingdom. Shame that it only takes one man's errors to punish all," the woman chuckled, her eyes falling onto Atem. Atem's crimson eyes narrowed the loose strands of his hairs slowly rising from the increase of magic he was losing control. The sickly green cloud quickly went over to Atem, engulfing the king with his body. Atem thought he could easily get out, after all these creatures were clouds and clouds were nothing more than just air. _

_Seto and Mahad were about to step in when the giant cloud blocked their way. He wagged one of his plump fingers side to side, a gentle smile on his face. _

"_I would not do that if I were you too. My friend Hodei can excrete acid onto your king if you make any subtle movement," the cloud looked over to the young woman, "Mistress Izanami, I am sure that these creatures want to know what is going on here."_

_Izanami smiled at the giant cloud. "I do believe you are right Nasim. I am Izanami, a friend of good Bakura's. This behind me," she extended one of her arms to ice, "is what Bakura asked me to guard, along with my guardians."_

"_Why would ice need to be protected?" Mai scoffed, Joey latched onto one of her arms. He didn't want to pull off a feather as last time he did that, Mai nearly pulled out all of his hair._

"_The ice guards what is inside Mai. Inside are the three swords of Timaeus, Critias and Hermos. I assume you know who they are," Izanami smirked as she answered, knowing the reaction she would receive. _

_Everyone was shocked; Joey, Serenity's, Seto's, Atem's and Yugi's ancestors' swords were here right before their very eyes. They had only seen portraits of their ancestors but the swords had always had their description told in stories. The swords used in battle, were never seen anywhere else. Mahad spoke for them all. "Why are the swords of the creators of this kingdom here? There were rumors that when they died, the swords disappeared._

"_Do you know why the swords were only used in battle?" Izanami suddenly asked, the pale gold cloud stirring in her arms. _

_She received no reply, so she continued. "On each sword was an inscription from their love of their life. Even though Timaeus was king by the decision Critias and Hermos who served as the only two members of his bureaucracy, they all fought in any battle side by side. The love of their lovers inspired them to continue fighting for what they believe in."_

"_So what does dis got to do with us?" Joey asked, not getting the point of her story. "Not tryin' to be rude or anythin' but I'm confused here."_

"_I've known Bakura for a long time. We were special as we were born. He with two souls and I well, I can go from the spirit world and visit. I have met your ancestors and they saw that you made need these swords some day, but due to the curse and Timaeus's anger towards King Atem, the swords will only be released when he has the one who will break the curse to fall in love with him and the one says so. Good luck I must say as I've seen how the one's personality will be."_

_Atem's eyes had narrowed even more, which if anyone one else had tried, would find this task to be impossible. "The curse should have never been put into place. It is not my fault that the other side of Bakura could not handle rejection," Atem growled, furious that his ancestor, one he never met, was putting the blame on him. _

"_Oh shush. You may be king but you need to learn to open your heart and eyes. You have been blind ever since you became king and let yourself become something you are not. Remember my words about these swords and do not attempt to burn the ice down again. I would not want to send my dragon instead, one not even Seto could control." _

_Izanami with the pale gold cloud, Nasim and Hodei disappeared as the sky began to clear. _

"_Hey! I never got to ask if I could jump on Nasim!" Mana pouted, her lower lip jutted out. _

_(End of Flashback!)_

Yugi sighed, his fingers brushing against the cold ice. "Timaeus, I know that you still may be furious with my brother, but give some sort of guidance for me to find him. We all need him."

The ice covering Timaeus's sword began to pulse a faint turquoise color after Yugi's pleading. Yugi's closed his eyes as a faint breeze swayed the ornaments in his unique headwear before the ice no longer pulsed.

"KRI!"

Yugi turned around and saw Kuriboh there, along with Mokuba who was rubbing his eyes tiredly. He was able to disperse the illusion of his pajamas but he did not have his staff with him even though everyone insisted upon forcing him to carry it at all times.

"Mokuba, why don't you have your staff? How many times do we need to remind you to carry it with you?" Yugi reprimanded, his tone hinting the concern for the young magician.

"Kuriboh just yanked me out of bed before I could even grab it. Why are you up here and where's the king?" Mokuba explained, looking around the scenery. "I thought this was an off limits area to practice because of the swords."

Yugi now had a mini battle in his head. 'Seto didn't want Mokuba and Kuriboh to know about my brother. He would flip if he found out but then again….'

"We can't find my brother. Do you have any idea where he could be?"

Mokuba shook his head, keeping calm. He could not believe one of his mentors, his cousin and his king was gone.

"Kri! Kri!" cried Kuriboh, flailing his little paws around. He knew the answer to his master's question!

"What is it Kuriboh?" Yugi asked, not clearly understanding Kuriboh's sudden outburst. They really did need to work on a spell to understand Kuriboh.

"I think he knows where the king is Yugi," Mokuba replied to which Kuriboh jumped vigorously.

Yugi's eyes grew wide, grabbing the brown fur ball. "Please take us to him Kuriboh. We need him." Yugi's blue robe shook with his body from the silent sobs. His brother was his protector even since he could remember and with him gone, Yugi felt like a part of him was missing.

Kuriboh's eyes drooped as he saw his master become sad over the master of masters. He closed his big eyes and thought of the potion room where Atem was at, how he looked and how the female looked too. When he opened his eyes, he found himself in the potion room, his master no longer holding onto him but at the bedside of the master of masters.

"Atem! What happened to you?" Yugi turned to Kuriboh placing his hand on top of the fur ball's body. "I need you to think of Seto and Mahad. It's the only way I can summon them here now."

Kuriboh did what he was told; thinking of the violet haired master and the dragon master that always seemed to be in a fowl mood. The moment he opened his eyes they were there, knelt by the king's bedside.

Seto's hands were clenched as he examined his king. There he lay, his breathing heavier than usual, his headpiece off his head. What startled him was the wound on his king, "Mahad, why does he still have this wound? His body would have healed by now."

"It looks like a wielder of earth magic did this but I have never seen earth magic do anything like this before. Someone must have infused this with dark magic, stronger than what we've ever seen before," Mahad noticed the empty potion bottles, "Whoever gave him these two potions was able to speed up the healing process slightly."

"None of us knew where my brother was though," Yugi replied. Who else could have known?

Seto looked around the room, his azure eyes landing on an object on the table. Those very eyes widened in surprise, his body tense as he realized who knew who injured his king.

"Mahad, Yugi. You both should stay with the king. I will go tell the others we found him."

He received no reply as he stormed out of the room, rage filling his very existence. His cousin, the person who he served was lying in a simple bed, harmed by dark magic they had never encountered before.

"How dare those vile outsiders let the king come to harm after he welcomed them into his home. They should be grateful we had found them before those cannibals did," Seto growled quietly as he marched to the wing the outsiders' rooms were at.

"Seto? Seto what's wrong?" Serenity asked he strode right past her. He did not even notice his brunette angel; he was dedicated to his current goal.

He did not stop at all, completely ignoring Serenity. Serenity's dark eyes narrowed as she released her wings. She landed right in front of Seto, blocking his path. "Seto this isn't like you. Please tell me what's wrong."

Seto sighed, knowing Serenity would persist on finding out the answer. She must have had inherited the stubborn trait from her brother.

"The king was found injured. I believe that those humans had something to do with it."

Serenity gasped her olive eyes wide. "Téa would never do such a thing to the king! She knows she can't leave the kingdom, so why would she try to have the king harmed?"

"You never judge a book by its cover Serenity. Téa could have been lying to you from the very start," Seto cupped Serenity's face before walking away from her, "Bakura should have made you realized this."

"Seto," Serenity whispered, watching him head to western wing of the castle. "Please don't harm her."

* * *

><p>Téa woke up with a sneeze, her sapphire eyes dazed with sleep. She slowly sat up, rubbing her eyes. When her eyes readjusted to the brightness of her ro-<p>

"Wait how did I get in here?" Téa asked herself, confused as tried to remember what happened last night. "Forest. Ogres…King Atem!"

Téa darted out of the bed, her heart pounding with fear. Was the king all right? Did the potions help King Atem heal? Why was he not visiting her now to let her know he was all right?

"I have to see if he's okay," Téa opened the door and nearly screamed as she bumped into what felt like armor, but had some type of rigidness to it. She looked up, her eyes falling upon narrowed, azure eyes. 'Crap. What is his name again?' Téa thought, trying to remember his name. The girls (with the exception being Rebecca) and Mokuba warmed up to Téa quickly but the men were a different story.

"Seto?" Téa asked, her voice hinting that she was unsure. She didn't want to insult someone by forgetting his or her name, especially someone like this man. He stood with a sense of pride, dedication and perhaps bitterness if Serenity or Mokuba was not by his side. He, in her opinion, was possibly the one not to make angry even over something little.

"Tell me what happened to the King," Seto demanded his body tense. Even as he spoke, a scowl was on his lips.

"Dude, I already told you what happened! Why won't you believe us?" Tristan yelled before it grunts replaced his voice. Téa shoved Seto away, gasping when she saw Tristan and Duke. Suits of armor, no one inside it, were holding them back yet Téa could tell that these armors had the strength of more than one man. Téa, prepared to run towards them suddenly felt her back hitting the hard, stiff wall. Flares of pain shot up her back and head, a hand loosely around her throat.

"The king let you into his home and this is how you repay him? He's lying in a bed, harmed by magic we have never seen before because you had left during the middle of the night to escape," Seto's grip tightened as Téa attempted to pry his hand off her throat, "Mokuba come here now."

Téa noticed the little magician standing far away from them all. He would not look up as Seto called him over, his dark hair covering most of his face. When Mokuba stood next to Seto, Téa noticed he was trembling with fear.

"Mokuba?" Téa attempted to whisper as she stopped struggling. Mokuba flinched, his head snapping up at her voice. His dark eyes filled with tears, a small trail on the left side of his face.

"Seto please. I'm not good with this kind of magic. I only started practicing it," Mokuba pleaded, hoping his brother would change his request. "Mana is better at it than I am."

"Mana will not perform the task I asked for you to do. She cares for Téa and these two greatly. As your older brother and a member of the king's bureaucracy, I order you to listen to me," Seto replied harshly. Téa froze, her skin turning cold. What did they mean this kind of magic?

Mokuba's head drooped down once again, walking over to Tristan and Duke. The red sash wrapped around his head did not flow freely behind him. It just hung there limply and appeared to become dull in color. He tilted his staff towards Tristan and Duke, muttering something incoherent to their ears. Tristan and Duke's bodies slacked against the arms of their opponents, their eyes closed.

"What did you do to them?" Téa demanded as she watched Tristan and Duke taken away from her. "Please, just let us go. The king will tell you what I told him."

Her cries fell upon deaf ears as Mokuba neared her, Seto's other arm was pressed across her shoulders as she futilely struggled.

Mokuba looked up, his eyes locking onto Téa's sapphire ones. "Please forgive me Téa," Mokuba begged, his staff directly pointed at her face. Before Téa could reply, her vision of the room changed into a dark night, fire blazing into the sky. She screamed when she saw her parents and Tristan's parents lying there on the ground, buried underneath mounds of rubble. She heard the yells of the fire fighter yelling he found a survivor and was dragging her away from her family. The night of the day, she lost her parents and her aunt was the nightmare for her to relive.

Seto watched the motionless woman's head slump forward. He removed his grip on her throat and shoulders, allowing her to fall into his arms. He turned to his little brother, sobbing at the actions he had done. Next to him was another suit of armor, prepared to fulfill his orders.

"Take her to the dungeon tower, the highest room. She will not try to escape once she sees there is no way possible for her to leave now," Seto ordered as he passed the woman into the suit of armor's arms, bridal style. The suit of armor gave a bow and quickly darted off towards the dungeon tower.

Seto looked at his little brother, a pang of remorse shot through him. "Mokuba. Tell the others they may not visit the outsiders by my order. Mahad and Yugi are too busy taking care of the king so I am the one who is now in charge of you all." Seto disappeared, leaving his brother behind. Mokuba fell to his knees, tears splattering the antique rug.

"Mokuba? Mokuba, what's wrong?" The soothing voice of Serenity, barely heard over Mokuba's sobs.

"I-I had to hurt her Serenity. I-I didn't want to," Mokuba flung himself into his brother's lover's arms, "I-I didn't w-want to hurt them and now they're separated from e-each other, reliving their n-nightmares again and again."

Serenity wrapped her arms and wings around the tiny magician, burying her face into his inky black hair. "I know Mokuba, I know," she whispered, fighting the tears that wanted to sprang from her eyes. Was all this pain worth becoming human again?

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><p><strong>So I pretty much left you all on a cliffy. I was going to make the chapter 5k but it's close enough that I decided to post it. I'll be working on some other things like AWR so be prepared to see that coming out soon. Also do I have any Cyborg 009 fans out there? I thought I'd let you know that I'm working on a couple things for that so be aware! Now I will be going into hiding from the fans that don't like cliffies. Bye! <strong>

**SweetComplications**

**P.S. Please leave a review!**

**P.S.S. The monsters in the story are Cloudians: Smoke Ball, Altus, Acid Cloud. Izanami and Hard Armor.**


	7. Chapter 7

**YES! I FINALLY UPDATED THIS STORY! AREN'T YOU ALL PROUD OF ME? :D**

**Anyways, here is chapter seven of Dancing into the Magician's Heart and I hope you all enjoy it. Also there is an important news at the bottom so read that please!**

**I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! or the idea of Beauty and the Beast. They belong to their respectful owners! **

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><p>He knew that something was wrong, as his crimson eyes opened no sign of life anywhere. The meadow he found himself at had burnt grass everywhere with a few common squirrel monster carcasses littering the ground. The blackened trees' branches had gnarled twisting deformities of limbs.<p>

"Where is everyone?" Atem slammed his staff into the ground, muttering a spell to transport him away from this area of dread. He closed his areas, feeling the surge of his power run through his veins as crimson swirls danced around him. When he opened his eyes, they grew wide.

He was still in the dreary meadow.

"King Atem!"

Atem's head looked towards where the gentle voice was calling him.

"Tea? What are you doing here?" Atem asked, taking in Tea's appearance.

She was standing there in an ivory maiden dress made of lace and silk that reached to below her feet. It was slightly low cut, exposing her chest and leaving little to imagine with the dress hugging her body perfectly. Her mahogany hair had some slight wave to it as it fell upon her shoulders. Her sapphire eyes twinkled as she smiled at him, taking a small step. The burnt grass came back to life as she took small steps to him. The entire meadow came back to life, wildflowers of every kind filling the air of their sweet smell.

"I'm glad you're okay," Tea whispered as she opened her arms to Atem, her smile and eyes filled with love. Atem closed his eyes as he took her into his arms, holding her close to himself. He opened his eyes when he felt she was no longer in his arms, gasping when he saw her.

Tea wrapped herself in Bakura's arms, her delicate right hand placed tenderly on Bakura's chest. However, something wasn't right with Tea. Her eyes had taken a dull color, void of the life that was in there just a few moments ago.

"How does it feel _King Atem_," Bakura sneered, putting his hand onto Tea's porcelain cheek. "How does it feel to lose your only chance of redemption to be in my arms?"

"Bakura you let her go now! She has nothing to do with this!"

Bakura's fingers ran a few strands of Tea's hair, bringing it close to his nose to inhale her scent.

"She smells just like a rose," Bakura's hand traveled to her cheek, "But alas every rose wilts _my King_."

Bakura's fingernails dug into Tea's cheek as the claws of a predator would do to his prey. Crimson blood pooled out of the elongated claw marks, dripping onto Tea's ivory dress.

Tea cried out, her eyes regaining light within them.

"King Atem! Save me!" Tea pleaded, her eyes darting over to him as she tried escape from Bakura's grip on her. Bakura smirked as he let her go, watching Atem start racing over to her.

"King At-" Tea cried out, her eyes widening. She fell to her knees, the expression of agony tearing Atem's heart.

"Did she honestly believe I would let her be in your arms without some price to pay?" Bakura held up his hand, dripping with Tea's blood as the claws retracted to their original size, "Humans are so stupid."

Atem fell to his knees near Tea, his hand reaching for her still warm body. 'Maybe I still have enough time!' Atem thought as he moved to grab Tea. However, his goal would never have the chance to be fulfilled.

Tea's bloodstained body disappeared slowly into light blue sparkles as the meadow returned to the lifeless land Atem had seen just moments before.

"Tea!" King Atem cried as he pounded one of his fists onto the ashy ground while Bakura threw his head back and let out a sinister laugh.

"See what happened since you tried breaking the curse? Everything will fall apart for you!"

Atem thrust his hand towards Bakura, black electricity jetting out from it. It surrounded Bakura and his screams of agony filled the air.

"You lie! You are lying to me! I will kill you and avenge Tea!"

Bakura just smiled at the king, despite all the wincing. "I don't lie King Atem. I make you see the truth." Bakura disappeared after his last words, leaving Atem alone in the lifeless field.

"Yugi! Your brother!"

"Brother! Brother! Atem wake up now!" Yugi's voice pleaded the sorrow evident in his voice.

"Yugi?" Atem rasped, watching the lifeless meadow morph into the blurry image of his brother.

"I thought you were never going to wake up Atem. It's been four days since we found you," Yugi muttered as he helped his brother up. Mahad brought over a glass of water for Atem, noting the harshness of his voice.

"You had us all very worried my king. We didn't know when you would wake up," Mahad said bowing his head once Atem took the glass of water and thanked him.

"How are Tea and her companions?" Atem asked after finishing the glass of water. Mahad and Yugi looked at each other before Mahad answered for them both.

"We have not left your side for the four days you have been unconscious my King. I can call for Mana. She most likely has been keeping Tea, Tristan and Duke company." Mahad closed his eyes, muttering a small spell as Mana appeared within the room.

Her emerald eyes looked so lost until she looked at everyone in the room, noticing Atem was awake. She threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around Atem despite the yells Mahad and Yugi had. Mana buried her face into Atem's chest, sobs racking her petite body.

"My King you have to get her out of the dungeon now!"

Atem raised an eyebrow at the girl's words, pushing her back slightly so he could look at her face to face.

"Get who out of the dungeon Mana?"

"Tea! She has been in the dungeon for the entire time you have been unconscious! Seto had Tristan and Duke sent to different parts of the castle but he blames her for hurting you. Mokuba and I have been sneaking up food to her against Seto's orders. I know she's innocent because there's no dark desires in Tea's heart for you!"

"He did what?" Yugi gasped; surprised his cousin would do such a thing. His cousin may have been cold towards people most of the time but he would never do something like this as to deprive someone of the most necessity of life.

Atem 's crimson eyes blazed with anger, jumping out of the bed as he grabbed his headpiece and staff.

"Atem, you should be resting!" Yugi latched onto his brother's arm when he noticed the color of Atem's eyes. They were black, a black filled with so much anger.

"I do not permit this type of treatment towards someone in this kingdom Yugi! Let me go now," Atem shook off his younger brother as he disappeared, leaving the feeling of anger and anguish behind.

"Mana, go follow the King. I fear he may let his anger get to him," Mahad ordered as he and Yugi left to search for Seto. They knew Atem would be looking for Seto once he knew Tea was safe.

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><p>She felt so weak and cold. The nightmares never left her mind, tormenting her constantly as she slept just for even a minute. How was she to sleep when the dreams now consisted of Atem dying by the ogres' hands? She couldn't remember the last time she slept in the dungeon or the last time she had heard Mana and Mokuba's voices. In the dungeon, she had no concept of time anymore. Tea didn't even recognize what was reality and what was only a shadow. Each shadow now took the shape of the ogres from that night; tormenting her along with Seto's words on how it was her fault the King was hurt.<p>

"It's my entire fault," Tea whispered to herself, clutching her head as the tears threatened to spill.

"I'm glad you finally agreed little girl," One of the shadows chortled, inching closer to her. "It's silly to resist."

"Get away!" Tea screamed, slapping the shadow away from her. "Don't hurt me!"

"Tea, I promise I will not hurt you," A masculine voice whispered to her as Tea felt herself wrapped up into someone's arms. Tea's eyes grew wide as she began to struggle only to feel the arms tighten up and her face being pulled up to meet black eyes tinged with crimson belonging to a blue, black haired king.

"King Atem?"

"Are you alright?"

"Don't worry about me. Are you okay?"

Atem was a bit surprised at her question. She was up here for four days without proper nutrition and alone most of the time yet she wanted to know if he was all right.

"I am fine Tea. Can you stand on your on?" Atem let go of Tea as he stood up to test how weak she had actually become. He had to reach for her quickly as her knees buckled. That is when Atem noticed she had chains on her wrists and ankles; thankfully, it was not too tight on her.

Atem's hand glowed red as he broke the chains as Tea noticed his eyes went back to their natural color.

Atem swooped Tea off her feet, carrying her bridal style as the dungeon door swung open.

"King Atem, do you know how my cousin and our friend Duke are? I haven't heard anything about them in a long time," Tea froze when she heard Seto's voice calling out for Atem, unknowingly burying herself into Atem further.

"My king! You should be resting now," Seto said as he stood there with Mahad, Yugi, Mai and Joey behind them. Mai and Joey refused to look up in Atem's eyes; their postures were tense as they hardly left any space between themselves.

They knew their king was furious and they were ashamed at themselves for not interfering to ensure the welfare of Tea and her companions.

Atem's eyes narrowed at his cousin, his crimson eyes slowly turning back into the angry black as his magic surged through him. Tea whipped her head to look at Atem, gripping onto his outfit, afraid he was going to hurt everyone. Atem froze when he felt a calm, soothing sensation rush into him, looking down at the mahogany woman in his arms. She was peacefully sleeping now, her expression one of content and peacefulness. Joey came over and took Tea from Atem's arms, gently holding the woman in his arms.

"We're sorry we weren't dere to protect her," Joey muttered as he and Mai took their leave to get Tea resting in her room again.

Once he felt Tea's presence was no longer in the same area, his eyes narrowed at his oldest cousin. The aura Atem was giving off was dangerous; they could all feel the anger and hate. It was as if Atem was choking them with it and he did not care anymore if Seto was his cousin or not.

"Who do you think you are Seto? When do I permit treatment of people that are guests of MY castle?" Atem growled out, his staff pointed directly at Seto's face. "I would consider it treason since you know she is the one yet you treated her as filth."

"King Atem, she was the reason you sustained such injuries. If she didn't leave the castle, none of this would have happened. It's her fault," Seto replied, defiantly. He would not admit he made a mistake when he knew he had done no wrong.

"Tristan and Duke were the masterminds behind the attempted escape. She didn't wake up until her cousin tripped and fell down in the process," Mahad explained, ignoring the hate filled gaze Seto sent him. Mahad had always wondered if Seto was jealous of him ever since they were children. He was the second closest person to Atem, something Seto could never have done.

"And how do you know this Mahad?" the dragon lord slightly sneered at Mahad, noticing how the purple magician's eyes narrow at him.

"My wife Mana told me Seto, the one who knew what was going on yet she did the right thing along with your brother who you made cast a spell on those chains you forced her to wear and then on Tea to give her nightmares constantly. What were you thinking? You're brother is only in training still yet you had him performed such a dangerous spell."

Atem's aura flared as he lunged for Seto when Mahad and Yugi stopped him in time.

"Have you turned as ruthless as your father Seto? He didn't care for a single person but himself."

"How dare you mention my father! You may be king but you have no right to mention such a thing. If anything, we should be angry at you Atem for you are the reason we are under this curse. Maybe we want to remain this way, immortal and powerful," Seto's eyes narrowed as he said this to Atem.

Atem lowered his staff, watching his cousin carefully. "You want to remain this way? You want us all to stay in these cursed forms when we all wish to be human once more?"

"What about Serenity Seto? She hates her dragon form," Yugi mentioned quietly.

"Do you want her to hate part of herself forever?"

Seto's azure eyes softened at Yugi's words. "I apologize to you my king. I will apologize to Tea and her companions for the actions I have done to them."

"An apology is only the first step towards the process of healing Seto. Tea and her companions aren't the only ones you need to apologize to though," Mahad added as he placed his hand on his king's shoulder. "My king, I presume you must be hungry after four days of only sleeping. Let's head down to the kitchen to make you something."

"We promise Joey won't help with it at all," Yugi joked as he noticed how calm his brother was now.

The corners of Atem's mouth turned into a small smirk as Yugi lead the way to the kitchen, leaving Seto behind.

"A meal does sound nice right now."

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><p>"Mai! When do you think she'll wake up?" Mana asked as she sat next to Tea's bedside. Ever since she saw Joey bring her back into Tea's prepared room, Mana refused to leave the girl's side.<p>

The female harpy sighed, her patience wearing thin for the female magician.

'Why did I volunteer to be here with Mana again?' Mai asked herself, before her eyes fell on the sleeping Tea. Mai sighed, remembering the guilt she felt for not stepping in save Tea made her volunteer.

"I don't know Mana. But you should let the poor girl sleep. She's been quite through an ordeal during the last four days."

"I know," Mana adjusted her position in the chair, her chin resting in her hands, "I can't help but worry about her you know? I really wanted to get her out of there but Seto is scary when he's angry."

Mai nodded instead of rolling her eyes. As if, Seto's anger could be worse than hers could! Then again, Mai never leashed it out on someone except for Joey.

"Where am I?" A quiet voice asked, snapping Mai out of her thoughts.

"Yay! You're up Tea!" Mana cheered, throwing her arms around the girl, ignoring Mai's orders for her not to startle Tea.

Tea fell into her pillows deeper, her eyes wide as she gave Mana a hug. "Mana? Mai? How did I get here?"

"Don't you remember hun? King Atem woke up and got you out of the dungeon. Joey and I brought you in here."

Tea blinked a few times, allowing Mai's words to register. "I thought that it was all a dream."

"Nope! Besides wouldn't a dream like yours consist of the king shirtless?" Mana asked slyly, giggling when Tea's face turned bright red.

"Why would I dream of anything like that?" Tea asked, the tone of her voice hinting her curiosity.

"Well Tristan and Duke can be heard moaning and groaning certain names in their sleep. They are lucky Seto's room is far away from theirs."

Tea forced a smile on her face when she heard about Seto. She knew he was only doing his duty as a member of King Atem's bureaucracy and as his cousin but the fear of him still clung to her.

"Mana, Mai," A calm voice called out, causing all three girls to look towards the entrance of the room. Tea's breathing picked up, all the blood through her body began to increase the temperature of her skin as her heart stopped beating.

'What's he doing here?' Tea thought, clinging to the covers of her bed.

"King Atem!" Mana cried out, jumping onto the king. She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. Atem never did loose his balance at the sudden extra weight of Mana. Mai shook her head at the girl, attempting to pull her away from the king.

"Mana what did we tell you before about doing that? You are lucky the king is used to you doing something like this."

"But Mai," Mana clung to the king as a girl would with her teddy bear, "He's my best friend and I didn't give him an official hug!"

Tea giggled, perking everyone's ears. They turned to the girl in the bed, confused.

Tea noticed the sudden attention on her, her skin flushing as a result. "Sorry. It's just so funny to see you all act around each other. You act like more of a family then someone who works for one person as his bureaucracy members."

Atem nodded, understanding Tea's view. "I suppose after living with each other for many years, most of the formalities cease to exist."

"What are you doing here King Atem?" Mana asked, moving away from her best friend. "Weren't you supposed to be eating with Mahad and Yugi?"

"I finished my meal with them but I wanted to ask Tea something," Atem turned towards Tea, the corners of his mouth tilted up slightly to form a smile, "Would you like to go patrolling with me to the local villages?"

Tea blinked a few times, the words registering in her mind. "You have villages around here?" came out of her mouth while 'Is he asking me on a date?' shouted in her mind.

"A kingdom is usually made up of more than the king and his bureaucracy Tea," Mana joked only to receive a small glare from the human girl.

"Yes we have villages around here but they are hidden within the many different landscapes. We maintain contact with them all by patrolling to each village at least twice a week," Atem explained.

Tea's mouth formed a small o, reeling in all the information. "I'd love to join you King Atem."

Before Atem could reply, Mana shoved him out of the room and covered the doors with locks to prevent him coming back in.

"Mai start getting her ready! It's her first date with the king!"

Tea blinked in confusion as Mana pulled her out of the bed and shoved her towards Mai.

"Umm… I have been confused from the very start on how do you people know so much about my era. Can you please tell me how you know about it?"

Mai sat the girl in front of a vanity mirror as Mana explained.

"Well we had explored the minds of Tristan and Duke when they were first brought here. They did not feel anything of course but don't tell them about that. We don't need them worrying about us being zombies."

Mai rolled her eyes at Mana's comment. "Of course we are not zombies. The zombies live in the graveyard."

"There's what in what?" Tea screeched as Mai brushed Tea's hair.

"Don't worry. They are harmless until you get them mad. Joey, Mokuba and I learned that the hard way," Mana pulled out her wand, "Ready for your first date outfit Tea?"

Before said girl could reply, Mana's magic swirled around Tea, covering every inch of her skin.

"Mana you may want to hurry up before the king gets impatient," the harpy told the magician as she watched the pink magic swirl around the human girl.

"Okay!" Mana chirped, waving her wand away from herself to remove the magic from Tea's body. "You look pretty Tea!"

Tea stood there, her bright sapphire eyes shining as she stood in front of the magician and the harpy. Her clothing was not an outfit she would wear on a daily basis but maybe she would for Halloween. Her top was a slightly loose white cotton shirt, the sleeves barely touching her wrists. She had her shoulders exposed as the shirt had a scoop like neckline. Over the shirt was a black corset, lined with a fabric that mimicked the color of her eyes in the middle of the corset.

She wore black pants that fit her perfectly, showing the worse that she had the hard-earned body of a dancer with a small sapphire skirt just below her corset to match. Her black boots reached to her knees only.

"I swear if this doesn't make the king go crazy with lust Tea we have failed our duties as a best friend," Mana shoved Tea out of her bedroom, locking the door behind her. Tea didn't pay attention to that however as she was pushed into a warm chest covered in leather, knowing exactly whose chest it belonged to.

"Tea?" Atem asked, noticing Tea's body had become stiff as the poor girl was just ejected from her own room.

Tea pushed herself away; her face turned the opposite direction as the blood rushed to her face.

"Sorry about that King Atem. Mana just shoved me out too quickly," Tea said, turning towards him when she felt the warmth of her cheeks dissipate.

"Mana can be overly excited," Atem, offered her a gloved hand, "Should we take our leave before Mana shoos us away?"

Tea noticed the sincere looks in those crimson eyes, before she nodded in agreement. "I think that would be best," Tea placed her hand in Atem's hand, "I don't want to feel her wrath."

Atem had a small smirk on his face, bringing Tea closer to him as he raised his staff into the air. Tea closed her eyes at the sudden magic, tightening her hold onto the king as the surroundings around her began to change.

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><p><strong>So how was it? :D I hope it was good because I spent about a week working on it. Speaking of which, I plan to start updating this story every three weeks so I can have one week to work on this, one week to work on one-shots and AWR and one week to work on anything else I have in store. I feel bad for updating only maybe once of month or two months but life gets hetic, especially when you have a partial erupted wisdom tooth that hurts all the time T.T<strong>

**Anyways I should end this now before I go onto some random rant...**

**Leave a review or any form of love please! (Nothing that's stalkerish love please...)**

**SweetComplications**


	8. Chapter 8

**An early update for Dancing into the Magician's Heart! It's a Christmas from me to you so I hope you all enjoy it! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!, the characters or monsters. They belong to the rightful owners!**

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><p>She could only hear the whooshing sounds in her ears, making her cling onto the king further, afraid to let go. For all she knew, they could be deep inside a volcano.<p>

"Tea, you can open your eyes now," Atem told her, as Tea's arms were currently too tight around him. "You are missing a great view."

Tea slowly opened her eyes, the sudden brightness making her flinch.

Tea's sapphire eyes were wide as saucers when she saw what the king wanted her to see.

"We're flying?" Tea screeched, her arms tightening around the king's neck.

Atem winced slightly at Tea's grip.

"Yes Tea. May you please loosen your grip just a bit? I may have magic but I still need my neck,"

Tea nodded, loosening her grip on the king's neck. 'Wait I'm so close to the king?'

Tea looked down, finding miles of green trees. Then she saw one tree moving slowly in a sort of a waddle.

"King Atem why is that tree moving?" Tea screeched, her eyes rushing up to meet the amused crimson eyes of Atem. "Trees don't move!"

"We all used to be humans Tea," replied Atem, as he spotted his destination: a village that was in a small way and made its way up towards a hill.

Tea would have been shocked if she hadn't already guessed. This wasn't a sci-fi; sci-fi doesn't have people performing magic after all.

"How did you all end up this way?"

Atem did not answer her at first as he pondered how to answer this question.

"One winter night a man came and cast a curse on us. All those of my kingdom were affected and no outsiders have been allowed to come in since you."

Tea's mind registered his words, her heart reaching for everyone of this kingdom. It wasn't fair that a man had done this to all of these innocent people.

"How are you going to get rid of the curse?"

"We don't know. My bureaucracy and I have been looking for him for a long time. We haven't had any results whatsoever," Atem lied, the words slipping so easily from his lips. He did not want to lie to her but by knowing this girl for only a short time; she would do anything he asked her to do. Atem did not want her to force herself to love him; it had to be true love.

"I'm sure you'll find him someday soon King Atem. I have faith in you," Tea said, a bright smile on her face.

Atem nodded his eyes on the field where a bunch of cats with dark blue fur and white swirls were laying around.

"Tea I'm going to put a spell on you as a disguise. I don't want my people panicking when they see you," Atem explained as he neared the ground.

Tea blinked, confused at what the king had just said. "A disguise? Why would I need a disguise?"

"Do you remember what I said Tea? You are the first outside to come into our kingdom in a very long time. If my people were to see you, they would panic or even worse," Atem whispered the last part as he gave his reasoning.

Tea didn't catch the last part as she just nodded her head.

"I understand King Atem," she moved a couple of feet away from him, standing tall.

Atem raised his hand and a dark yellow like color sprang forth. It crept towards Tea quickly before swirling around the sapphire-eyed beauty. It swirled around Tea until it wrapped her into a shape of a cocoon. Atem's fingers twitch slightly; the dark yellow magic completely disappeared with no trace whatsoever.

Atem had a proud smirk on his lips when he saw Tea; he had feared that the illusion spell would not work on her at all.

"Did it work?" Tea peeped when Atem noticed she had her eyes closed tightly.

Atem made a mirror appear in front of her, "See for yourself Tea."

Tea slowly opened her eyes, finding a mirror in front of herself. Her breath hitched as her eyes fell upon the woman in the mirror.

The woman in the mirror no longer had the outfit she had on earlier. In its place was a dress of white with deep rich brown metal plating. The shoulders had sleeves that looked like angel's wings with a precious gem on each shoulder. There was also angel like wings at the end of the dress. Tea's hair was no longer the deep rich mahogany brown, but a reddish violet color. Adorned on her head was a headdress with two angel wings pointing up. Each angel wing had a dark aqua orb with a dark emerald orb between the two wings. Tea noticed the gloves she wore as she never wore gloves often. They were pure white with a dark aqua orb on each. The boots were pure white as well but they had no special orbs or gems on it. She almost freaked out when she saw the wings, two dark aqua orbs on each that were soft to touch.

"So can I fly now?" Tea joked, as the wind caressed her wings gently.

Atem chuckled quietly before shaking his head. "Remember it's just an illusion on your appearance Tea."

"But what if someone asks me to fly?"

"Tea no one is going to ask you to fly."

Tea rolled her eyes before her gloved hands found a resting place on her hips. "How often do you come to a village with someone who isn't a member of your bureaucracy King Atem? Your people are going to ask who I am."

Atem sighed, a bit annoyed at Tea's point. 'I wish I could say she's the one who will end this all but I don't want to risk anything.'

Quickly, Atem cast an illusion of bandages wrapped around her wing, a bit soiled with a faint red color.

"Now the villagers will not ask you to fly. Would you like to go into the village now before it comes to the time we must leave?"

Tea noticed the bit of irritation in his voice so she only nodded.

Atem offered his arm for her, which she gently took.

"Tea I should warn you that not everyone in this village retained human appearances," Atem sent a casting look at the girl on his arm, seeing her eyes sparkle with curiosity at his words.

"What do you mean by that King Atem?" Tea didn't understand what Atem was saying. How did some people not have human appearances? The ogres that had hurt her had a bit of human like features to them.

"My King! It is good to see that you have arrived!" A female voice called out, snapping Tea out of her thoughts. A small gasp escaped her lips before Tea could stop it.

A light chocolate brown panther was kneeling before her and King Atem, dressed in a woman's warriors clothing with a dark top, most likely made of iron and a skirt of dark material. Wrapped around panther's neck was a very billowy and it reminded Tea of a toga. On the panthers hands- 'Or would it be claws?' Tea thought- was a pair of iron gloves.

The female panther had a giant golden shield in her had with simple circular designs. She carried a matching staff with a crescent shape under the giant circle.

"My king, it's an honor for you to have come today. My husband is in our house right now. One of our children is a bit ill and only my husband knows the remedy his mother created a long time ago."

"It is fine Hilda. No need to fret," Atem gave the panther a gentle smile as he made a motion with his gloved hand to rise. The panther returned his smile when her eyes fell upon Tea.

"I've never seen you before milady," The female panther started guiding them to her home, "May I be so bold as to ask who you are?"

"She recently became a friend of my cousin's wife, Serenity. Do you remember her Hilda? She has come to the village before," Atem answered for Tea when said girl sent him a pleading look.

"Ah yes. The children of the village love her. They love it when she turns to her other form and she flies in the sky with them on her back."

Tea's brow raised a bit as her eyes widen when she heard Hilda mention Serenity's other form. 'What does she mean other form?' Tea asked herself before she looked to the king for an answer. Sapphire eyes met crimson that told her she would find out much later.

"King Atem is here! King Atem is here!" A group of high-pitched squeals cried out. Tea didn't know how much further her eyes could grow wider as she saw a group of children run. One thing was for sure Tea knew King Atem wasn't lying to her about not everyone having human like appearances. Her eyes caught a slightly chubby boy with only a white tank top, dark shorts and dark flips with a tiny pair of wings and a small girl dressed in a pale gold outfit with two triangular cones on top of her head. She carried a staff with her. Hopping along the girl was a small puffball that Tea realized was a rabbit. It had bright red eyes, like rubies that seemed to glaze over when it saw a patch of carrots near. A pink bird with a green collar and small bell flew over towards them, a bright smile on its face. The eyes of this bird reminded Tea of Mana's except Mana's eyes were so much brighter.

"King Atem we can't believe you're here again!" The bird exclaimed, panting heavily with her friends. "What are you going to teach us today?"

"Children! Have you forgotten your manners?" admonished Hilda, a bit ashamed of their lack of manners.

"Sorry Mama," The girl in the golden outfit muttered as she and her friends awkwardly bowed or curtsied to King Atem.

Tea brought her hand to her face, covering her smile as the bunny and the boy nearly lost their balance.

"I'm sorry Melody but I'm not here to teach you anything new today. I am here to talk to Amelia's father," King Atem answered the bird's nearly forgotten question.

A chorus of whines rang out but the scary gaze of Hilda silenced them.

"But my friend Tea will gladly play with you." Atem gently removed Tea's hand from his arm and gently pushed her towards the kids.

"I'll do what now?" Tea asked, nearly falling into one of the children from the unexpected push.

"You will play with them. I have seen how you are with Mokuba and I am sure the children will love playing with someone new. Now I have to go talk to Hilda's husband about important issues."

Atem and Hilda quickly left after Atem finished, leaving Tea to watch him head in the other direction.

Tea felt a small tugging on her dress, looking down to find Amelia there with her fist, gripping Tea's dress.

"Hi Tea! I'm Amelia and these are my friends Adam, Lily and Melody," Amelia pointed to the male fairy, the bunny and the bird. "My other friends will come out soon. They are in time out now for hitting each other."

Tea was speechless at the girl's friendless as she reached for Tea's gloved hand and led her towards a valley filled with flowers, the other children in tow.

"Ms. Tea, do you know any fun games?" Lily asked as she hopped ahead of everyone. "We are tired of playing the same games."

Tea placed a gloved finger on her pursued lips, wondering what games they would like.

"How about grab 'n' go?"

The kids gave Tea a blank stare, making Tea chuckle nervously before sighing.

"How do you play it?" Amelia asked, her golden eyes sparkling with curiosity.

**~With Atem~**

"My king, it is a great pleasure to see you once again," A black panther dark as night with elaborate blue and yellow armor on, greeted Atem as he and Hilda walked into a fairly stone house. In the far corner, Atem noticed the small fairy child, in his green robes and his large turquoise wings wrapped around him reach out for his mother. Soft cries came from the little fairy's mouth.

"Is Allister feeling better Alec?" Hilda asked, taking her child from his cot. The boy snuggled into his mother's fur, complete silence from him.

Alec nodded a smile on his face as he watched the exchange between his wife and son.

"Yes, he of course did not like the remedy too much."

Atem chuckled, remembering the days before the curse when he had to endure his grandfather's remedies for such trivial things such as a sneeze.

"Alec, your letter you sent to the castle requested my presence immediately over something you found recently. What is it?"

The dark panther nodded, gesturing towards the door. "If you may allow me my king, I will show you what I had found."

Alec waited until Atem left the stone house first before leading him to the dirt and stone path towards the forest. They followed

"This, my king," Alec raised his paw towards the tops of the trees, the sun shining in his eyes.

Atem's brow furrowed, confused by what the village leader wanted him to look at when he saw them.

"The leaves…They're changing color," Atem gasped, noticing the rich green leaves were tinted with shades of red, yellow and orange.

"Yes my king. I first thought that my eyes were merely deceiving me until my wife came to get me for dinner and she saw them as well," Alec looked away from the trees to his king, "The last time we had seen leaves change was the autumn before we all became like this."

Atem was puzzled at this sight. Time simply no longer existed in their world with the curse cast upon them. Atem remembered how people were confused that the sun would set or rise, but the season summer always remained, despite the number of days had past. Many completely forgo the concept of the calendar. They now just lived on a day-to-day basis.

"Thank you for showing this to me Alec. I will be returning to my castle to talk to the members of my bureaucracy about this and see what they think." Atem shook the panther's paw before flying back to the village to get Tea.

"No! Don't!" Atem heard the screams of Tea cry out, making the king's heart skip a beat.

"Tea!" Atem increased his speed to fly towards the direction where he heard Tea's screams.

"Please stop!"

Atem froze when he heard that last scream, stopping in his tracks as he saw her figure running away from something.

Atem's heart leapt with joy as he saw she was in no harm, she was only being chased by the village children whose cries of 'I'm going to get you Ms. Tea,' or 'Do not let her cross the line!' filled the air.

Atem strode over to the area where the kids had managed to tackle Tea to the ground.

Atem froze when he noticed one of the children that tackled Tea was Aden.

Aden faced the most struggles when it came to the curse as his entire body was made of fire. He had a hard time controlling himself when he got angry and he could not play in the rain with the other children of the village. He was an outcast to most outsiders and even some from his very own village yet Tea accepted him as easily as she accepted others.

"Tea," Atem's voice made all the children freeze, looking up to the king who was looming over them.

Tea blew some of her hair out of her face before turning her head slightly towards the king.

"Hello King Atem. What's going on?"

"We must leave now to get back towards the castle. I need to discuss something with everyone immediately."

"Aww! Can Tea stay King Atem? Pretty please?" Aden begged, his bright eyes shining.

Tea threw her arms open, inviting all the children into a group hug. "I'll come back soon okay? I pinky promise," Tea held out her pinky to every child there, the children's eyes shining with hope as they knew that pinky promises meant serious business.

Atem helped Tea up as the kids waved goodbye when Adam shyly went up to Tea and grabbed her hand. He placed a quick kiss on her hand before running off.

"Bye Tea! I'll miss you!" Adam stuttered as he and some of his friends began running back to their homes.

Tea had a small surprised look on her face as where Atem had a smile that reflected his thoughts about how he thought this was all amusing.

"Ready to leave Tea?" Atem swooped Tea off her feet and into his arms. He looked around the area, making sure no one was around. He quickly dispelled the illusion, Tea's outfit and her mahogany locks appeared once more.

"Yes but can you not use magic this time?" Tea asked her arms wound loosely around Atem's neck. Atem nodded before he took off, leaving wind to breeze through the valley.

A small rectangular blob with two small yellow wings and a question mark on his head came out of the trees, his face expressionless.

"Must tell the boss," the creature said in a monotone voice. "Must tell the boss."

* * *

><p>"Dude where is she?" Tea could hear Tristan's voice yell out as Atem made the doors open wide to let them enter the castle.<p>

"Do you ever listen to anybody Tristan? Mana told us they went on an 'outing' to one of the local villages. Can you remember that or do I need to write it down for you slowly?" Duke's aggravated voice made Tea sigh at the boys.

'I can't believe they've been friends since elementary school. They sure don't act like it,' Tea thought as she and the king walked into the room where Tristan and Duke were.

"Can't you guys go with one day without arguing?" Tea asked loudly, making the two to turn towards Tea and Atem.

"Tea!" Both boys cried out, rushing to the girl. Tristan enveloped her into a hug and lifted her off the ground.

"Tristan! Put me down!" Tea's cheeks flamed at Tristan's actions and when he did put her down, he refused to let go. He buried his face in her hair as Tea wrapped her arms around him.

"I thought I lost you," Tristan whispered, tightening his hold on Tea.

"Way to ruin the reunion with being all sentimental Tristan," Duke muttered before joining the group hug. Tea smiled one arm around each boy.

A cough coming from Atem broke the group hug very quickly, a blush from being embarrassed on both of the boys' cheeks.

"I am sorry to interrupt but I wanted to thank you Tea for accompanying me today. It was a great pleasure and I hope you will join me again soon someday," Atem took Tea's hand gently, placing a tender kiss on it before taking his leave, "I will see you at dinner."

Atem disappeared before their eyes, leaving Tea's cheeks to turn into a tomato while Tristan and Duke looked at the girl.

"You did what with him?" Both boys' voices pitches increased, almost similar to when they had begun puberty.

"None of your business," Tea replied as she folded her hands together.

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><p><strong>So it's a bit short but hey I updated early as a Christmas present (whether it's late or early for you I apologize)! <strong>

**Maybe as a Christmas present to me you can leave a review or some type of love *wink, wink* Nah I'm just kidding :)**

**I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season and a safe New Years! I'll see you all again when I update DandM for the first time in 2012!**

**Monsters I used: Lady Panther, Panther Warrior, Mokey Mokey, Flamvell Baby, Sonic Chic, Smile Kid, Esper Girl, Dunames Witch and Absorbing Kid from the Sky.**

**P.S. Thank you Elys for helping me out with this chapter! I love ya!**


	9. Chapter 9

***Peeks from behind the corner* Hi everyone! It's Sweet! Now before you kill me all for the torture I put you through with the updates, hear (or read?) me out. After my last update for the story, a lot of family and school issues came up. I had to take the ACT, exams, tests for competitions in cities two to three hours away from home , problems with my schedule for school all within the six months that left me completely stressed out. Normally, I write when I get stressed out but the family issues came in too. The family issues left me feeling depressed and I seriously did not want my mood to affect this or any other stories I have. Honestly, would you have want to read a chapter all about depressing stuff or a chapter with some humor, romance and more of the good stuff mixed in? _  
><em>**

**Anyways, I'm going to end my little sob story and say the disclaimer so you can enjoy reading!**

**I don't own anything that I can be sued for. Okay maybe a creative yet crazy mind but still, I don't own the copyrighted stuff. **

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><p>"So you're telling me that you, my cousin who is inspiring to be a dancer, went on a date with the king of this place?"<p>

Tea rolled her sapphire eyes for the thirty-sixth time at her cousin's persistent question. She was tempted to kick them out of her room. 'Maybe I can push them out of the window since they keep staring at it.'

"It wasn't a date Tristan. He just took me to one of the villages in his kingdom because he had official business to do."

"But it was just you two alone, flying in the sky with no other people around Tea. Then he thanked you for a great time," Duke added, only igniting Tristan's cousin/big brother instincts.

"You didn't do anything extreme on that date did you Tea?" Tristan practically yelled, making Tea's jaw drop.

"Do you honestly think I'd do that on a first date?"

"He's a king Tea. That means he most likely has some type of power to woo women under his clutches!"

Tea's brows shot up, a wave of anger rushing through her body.

"How many single women do you see her in the castle," Tea did not even bother to wait for them to answer her question, "I am the only single woman in this castle."

"Doesn't mean he has to go after you," Tristan muttered, receiving an elbow into his ribs by Duke.

"You two should be grateful for what King Atem did," A childish voice called out, making Tea turn around in her chair and look towards the door. Her eyes lit up as a bright grin appeared on her face.

"Mokuba! How are you?" Tea asked the young boy, flanked by Kuriboh who protested at her for not acknowledging him as well. "And you too Kuriboh."

"It's not fair Tea. Everyone else is part of some major meeting. They decided to exclude Kuriboh and me because we are too 'young'. Usually they let me sit with them in the room," Mokuba's eyes furrowed in anger and Tea had to control herself not to mention to that the young boy he had a slight pout.

"It's probably something really important. Maybe we could do something until they're done?" Tea suggested.

Mokuba's eyes lit up with at Tea's words, running over to her. He grabbed her hand and pulled up from her seat while Kuriboh went over to Tristan and Duke, nudging them out of their seats.

"Where are we going?" Tristan asked curiously, noticing the excitement radiating off Mokuba.

"The dragon stables."

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><p>To say none of the members of Atem's court was in shock was an understatement.<p>

"What do you mean the leaves are changing colors?" Seto demanded, rising from his red velvet seat. His eyes were blazing with frustration, his hands gripping the dark oak table. Seto could not simply wrap his mind around what his cousin had just told him. "There is no possibility that after all these years, centuries even; the seasons are now beginning to change."

"I saw them with my very own eyes Seto. Are you going to insinuate that I am lying to everyone?" Atem's tone demanded for his cousin to stay in his place. What right did Seto have to question the story he told them?

"No I am not my king but how else do you expect us to react to such news as this?"

"He does have a point King Atem. After all, these years with the weather remaining the same, hearing that it is changing is a shock. How else do you expect us to react?" Mai defended Seto, who sent her a thankful nod.

Atem sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger.

"Yes I know Mai but I cannot simply go to the people of this kingdom and tell them not to worry. We would have to go and help make preparations for the upcoming winter for all of the lands in this kingdom."

The sound of chairs scraping against the stone floor filled the room, indicating that everyone was leaving their king in peace.

Atem's head snapped up when he felt a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Brother, you have come a long way since the curse was placed but I still think you need to learn a few things. I believe Tea will help you learn them," Yugi smiled at his brother's confused look before taking his leave.

"What do I still need to learn Yugi?" Atem asked, rising from his seat to follow his brother.

Yugi laughed at his brother who clearly was trying to figure out what did he mean. "You'll see in time."

* * *

><p>"Mokuba, I'm sure this isn't safe to do. Shouldn't we have your brother or someone else with us?" Tea asked as she admired the size of the dragon stables. The building was made of grey, thick stones that were smooth to the touch but looked sturdy enough to survive storms.<p>

'I shouldn't be surprised that this building is enormous. After all, dragons do live in here,' Tea thought.

"I have ridden these dragons before Tea. Well the small ones only," Mokuba replied as he led Tea, Tristan and Duke through the stables.

"So what were the dragons before the curse?" Tristan gazed at one dragon particular. The dragon looked like it belonged in a cartoon with big brown eyes that had a happy twinkle to them. In addition, it looked like it had a smile on its face. It had blue scaling but a tan underbelly, which surprised Tristan. Then again, how much did he know about dragons except from fairy tales?

"Some were horses we had owned then. We found some over the years but with the attitudes they have at times, we wondered if some were human."

Duke's jade eyes widened at Mokuba's answer.

"Some of them were human?"

Mokuba nodded, gripping onto his staff tightly.

"Yes. Some of them were most likely human before the curse. That's why we need to break it as soon as we can."

"Mokuba," Tea whispered, stopping the boy in his tracks. She kneeled down to his height as she enveloped him into a hug. "We'll do everything we can to help you all break the curse. We'll help you all cope into society as well if need be."

Mokuba, not expecting Tea's sincere words, hugged Tea back but with his cheeks darker than his king's eyes.

Duke muttered pervert under his breath that got him an elbow buried into his ribs.

"You're just jealous that you aren't young enough hug girls like that," Tristan snickered, not bothered that a kid who has mystical powers was hugging his cousin.

"As if. Tea's like a sister to me," Duke replied as he watched Tea and Mokuba break out of the hug. He noticed a pained look on the kid's face before it quickly curved into a smile.

"There's one dragon I want to show you. All of our dragons are special. However, one is stubborn. She will not let us ride her. She will not even let us get near her. The only one who can get slightly close to this dragon is Serenity," Mokuba explained, leading the three humans down further into the massive stables.

"Wait how many dragons do you have?" Tristan asked, noticing some empty stables until he heard noises behind the gates.

"We have about thirty. I have the dragon that you saw earlier. His name is Skylar because of his blue color. Joey owns two, Mai owns two, and Yugi and the king own at least three. Rebecca and Serenity don't own a dragon and the rest are Seto's except for the one that Seto calls a word Serenity does not approve of."

"You own thirty of these things?" Duke noticed some of the dragon's evil glares when he said things.

"Yes. Here is the stubborn dragon," Mokuba declared cheerfully, stopping at least twenty to forty feet away from its stable.

"She's beautiful," Tea whispered as her eyes fell on the slumbering creature. She saw how the streams of sunlight escaped from the window of the oval dome over the creature's wings. They were the pink pearls Tea remembered her grandmother wore everyday until she passed them down to her mother.

"Since are dragons blue or even have hands?" Duke asked Mokuba, analyzing the dragon. Tea looked away from admiring the dragon's beautiful sea foam green hair to the hands Duke said was there.

"The question should be since when do dragons wear armor?" Tristan muttered. The bright golden armor stood out to him more than the beauty of the dragon.

"See why I told you this dragon is unique? None of our other dragons are like this unless we had to fight."

Tea glanced at the young yet wise magician. His glassy eyes told her there must have been a time of instability in the kingdom at some point.

'I hope he didn't have a part in any battles,' Tea hoped when Tristan interrupted her thoughts.

"Um Mokuba, why are the dragon's eyes opened?"

Mokuba snapped out of his daze and looked at the once slumbering dragon. "It's not growling," Mokuba whispered.

"And that's a bad thing?" Tea whispered back, stunned at the giant.

"She always growls when Seto tries to wake it up."

"If I saw a face like Seto's when I woke up, I would be pissed too," Tristan threw in, earning him a disapproving glance from Tea.

The dragon poked its head out further, her pale ruby eyes searching for something. Tea froze in her stance as the dragon's eyes fell on her and did not dare to move.

The dragon made a small growl that frightened Tristan and Duke deeply but not Tea. Instead, she felt a warm, comforting presence from the dragon. She did not quite understand why but she felt compelled to move closer to the dragon.

"Tea what the hell are you doing?" Duke hissed, reaching to grab her arm when Mokuba whacked his hand with the staff. Tristan snickered at the stunned expression on Duke's face.

"Don't stop her unless you want the dragon to lash out!"

"Why would it lash out?"

Mokuba wondered how he could explain what was going on without Tristan and Duke getting the wrong idea. "The dragon chose Tea as her bond partner of sorts."

Tristan and Duke stared incredulously at Mokuba when- "BOND PARTNER?"

Mokuba face palmed at the two's reactions. 'Do they take anything seriously without flipping out?'

"Remember how I told you all that almost each of the members in King Atem's court has dragons?" Duke and Tristan nodded. "Well the dragons just don't let anyone ride them. Usually the most powerful dragons we own have some special bond with someone. Joey's dragon will not let anyone else ride him unless Joey is with him or her. It is vice versa with the other dragons and their bond partners. The adults don't know how to explain it but it does avoid transportation issues."

"So now if King Atem or anybody else wanted to ride this dragon, Tea has to be there?" Tristan asked, letting all the information process.

Mokuba nodded.

"Dude, that overgrown lizard won't fit in a dog house. Hell, it won't fit in my house!" Duke said as he watched Tea place a hand gently on the dragon.

The dragon relaxed at her touch, closing her eyes contently. A sort of purring sound emitted from the dragon as Tea gently stroke its scales.

Tristan who was also watching Tea interact the dragon muttered, "It's like a big pussy cat with Tea."

Mokuba smirked at Tristan's comment. "Threaten her life and the dragon will be threatening yours."

"It wouldn't though because she's my cousin and our scents have to be similar or something right?"

Mokuba shrugged, secretly enjoying the panicking Tristan. "I don't know about that. When I played a trick on Seto one time with Joey, his dragon nearly flipped out on me until Seto stopped it."

Tristan's saucer wide eyes sent Duke laughing as he could tell the Mokuba was egging Tristan on.

'I'll have to enlist this kid's help if I want to prank Tristan anytime soon.'

"Hey come over and pet Fayette!" Tea called to them, never ceasing her movements.

"She named it already?" Tristan muttered, taking slow steps towards Tea.

Much to his dismay, Fayette stopped her weird purring sound when she felt Tristan get close.

Duke on the other hand, was clearly amused. "Oh this is hilarious."

"Oh come on Tristan; she won't bite you."

"You honestly think I'm going to believe you considering all the times you said that before and I ended up getting injured?"

Tea stood akimbo, an exasperatingly look on her face. "Tristan, that was before we became teenagers."

"Time may move on Tea but I still have scars from those incidents."

"I didn't know my cousin is frightened by a dragon that is perfectly calm at the moment," Tea muttered loud enough for Tristan to hear.

"Thanks for wounding my pride Tea."

Tristan continued to move closer to Tea, listening for the dragon to emit her growling sound. To his surprise, one never came.

"I want to pet her!" Mokuba ran over to Tea, pushing Tristan aside. Kuriboh on the other hand, stayed by Tristan and Duke.

"You're afraid too fur ball?" Duke asked Kuriboh. Kuriboh appeared to be concerned as he observed his master petting the big dragon.

Tristan rolled his eyes at Duke's question. "Pfft. Kuriboh has no reason to be afraid. What dragon wants to cough up a hairball?"

"Kri! Kri!" Kuriboh banged himself against Tristan's back, pushing him to the ground. Duke started laughing when he felt something tug at his hand.

"Duke come on and pet Fayette. She won't bite you," Mokuba pleaded, pulling out the puppy eyes.

"What about spit out fire?"

"Maybe but only if you make her mad."

Duke thought about the consequences of either petting the dragon or not. 'Well you only live once.'

"Lead the way kid," Duke told Mokuba, who eagerly pulled Duke to Tea and Fayette..

Tea smiled as Duke stood next to her, appearing to be relaxed with his hands shoved into his pockets.

"So what gave you the courage to face the 'dangerous' dragon?"

Duke shrugged his shoulders, watching Tea pet the dragon. "If I learned dancing to help you win your high school talent show, I figured this couldn't be as bad."

Tea did not know whether she should be furious at his comment or not. 'At least he had the courage to come and pet her.'

Fayette tilted her head as Duke stuck out his hand to pet her. When she felt Duke's hands pet her snout, she did not snap at him. Instead, her tongue slithered out and licked him.

Enjoying the fact the dragon liked him better than Tristan already, Duke decided to poke some fun at his friend.

"Well it seems like every female, human or not wants me Tristan. Looks like you'll always be out of luck."

Tristan's eyebrow twitched at Duke's insult while Kuriboh seemed to find it hilarious as he made high pitch kri sounds.

Duke smirked at Kuriboh and Tristan's reactions. "See even Kuriboh agrees with me."

Tristan huffed, marching over to the rest of the group. He stuck his hand out impudently either out of fear or anger, Tea was not quite sure.

Fayette on the other hand, saw the abrupt gesture as a threat. She made no hesitation to start growling at Tristan. Tristan, in fear of the growling dragon, grabbed Mokuba and hid behind him.

Tea wasn't pleased with Tristan's actions and she wasn't going to let him get away with it. What ever happened to becoming wiser as you grew up?

"Tristan, what is wrong with you? Hiding behind Mokuba who is half of your size?"

"Size doesn't matter! He can turn that thing into a puny, legless lizard."

"Um, Tristan I can't do that," Mokuba whispered.

Tristan spun Mokuba around to face him, his eyes glaring at the young magician.

"What do you mean you can't do that?"

"My magic isn't as strong as this dragon's right now. I can do things the dragon can't do but changing her into another creature isn't one?" Mokuba lied through his teeth. He did not mind lying Tristan or Duke. His problem was lying to Tea. He hated to do that to her. Lately he wondered how she would react when all of this was over.

"Tristan, you are not making Mokuba change this beautiful dragon into a slimy, ugly lizard. Honestly, I would ask Mokuba to change you into a-"

"A little bunny rabbit?" Duke interrupted Tea, a satisfied smirk on his face.

"I was going to say a dog to use that one device to stop a dog from barking but a bunny is good too."

Tristan's jaw drop at his cousin's and best friend's words.

"You guys seriously wouldn't."

Duke shrugged his shoulders, a pose that would have swooned all of his fan girls at home.

"I don't know Tristan. I would love a new lucky rabbit's foot."

"You guys are just horrible." Tristan turned around, his arms folded across his chest. Tempted, Tristan thought about plotting himself onto the ground but Tea probably would tell him he is acting like one of the toddlers she used to baby-sit.

Fayette pressed her snout gently into Tea's hand, gaining back her attention.

"What is it Fayette?"

Fayette scanned the room until her eyes landed onto what she was looking for. Mokuba, who noticed the interaction between Tea and Fayette, followed the direction of the dragon's eyes. A bright smile lit up on his face.

"Hey kid, you know what Fayette wants to do?" Duke asked, confused as Tea was. They saw that the dragon and Mokuba had their gazes on a saddle but the saddle was not one for a horse. The saddle was massive, clearly big enough for a dragon of Fayette's size. The charcoal colored saddle, beautifully decorated in silver and dark pink mehndi designs around the edges seemed to glisten in the strands of sunlight. Tea could not believe that on the saddle, small jade stones were within circle of every design, no matter how tiny it was.

"Yep I do and I can say that I'm excited as she is!" Mokuba exclaimed, pointing his staff towards the massive saddle.

"Um explain to me what she wants to do because I'm still confused," Tristan muttered, listening the entire conversation now.

"She wants to fly and she wants us to come with her," Mokuba grinned as he placed the saddle onto Fayette's back. "I call the seat behind Tea."

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><p><strong>So the chapter probably sucks because I started writing this the day after Christmas and finished it on Mother's Day. Six months is a huge gap when it comes to writing a chapter ^^; I'll probably go back and edit this chapter later on depending what you all think. <strong>

**I promise I'll work on my updating a lot better now! School gets out in a month so the three months of vacation will be my writer's dream. The part I'm afraid is that when the summer is over, I will have to face my senior year in high school! **

**Anyways, thank you all for reading this chapter and not sending me death threat messages about my poor updating skills :D **

**Love always, **

**SweetComplications**

**P.S. Dragons in this story are Ancient Fairy Dragon and Decoy Dragon!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Finally updating this story! :D I'm so proud I got it up but I'm going to make this first Author's Note because the last one is going to be much bigger and more important.**

**I don't own the characters of Yu-Gi-Oh!, the idea of Beauty and the Beast or anything else that I had nothing to do with its existence! **

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><p>"Joey?" A young harpy woman called out for her husband's attention. Joey decided that they would inform Mokuba the meeting was over as the young magician had made him promise. Mai thought that her husband might have something on his mind as he walked past Téa's room.<p>

'Then again, he probably just forget where her room is,' Mai thought as she watched her husband turn around to face her.

"What?"

Mai's brushed off the slightly rude manner her husband just displayed towards her.

"Where are Téa, Mokuba and the others?"

Joey's brow furrowed at his wife's question. "What do you mean where are they? Mokuba told me he would be with Téa in her room until we were done with the meeting.

"Well when you look in Téa's room, there's no sign of them anywhere. Judging by my sense of smell, they haven't been in her for quite some time."

Joey's eyes grew wide at his wife's words.

"For quite some time? Mokuba is becoming like his brother: using his looks to wrap the girls around his finger, conniving and-"

"And what fire boy?" Joey whipped around, facing his brother-in-law.

Joey knew if he finished the sentence with an insult, his sister and wife would have his head but he didn't want to compliment him either.

"And that Mokuba must have learned a lot from his older brother about the difference between right and wrong." It wasn't a total lie since Mokuba knew how to treat people even though he helped Joey and Mana play pranks on people once in a while.

"Mai, where is Téa and the others?" Atem asked Mai, noticing that the harpy's expression changed from pure amusement at her husband's quick words to one of uneasiness.

"Well King Atem, I don't kn-"

"Mokuba!" Serenity's scream of pure shock interrupted the harpy as they turned their attention down the hall. There they saw Yugi and Rebecca calm the worried Serenity standing in front the one way mirror Seto had suggested when there first were scavengers hoping to gain access to the castle and take over as ruler of the kingdom.

"Mokuba? Is he injured?" Seto rushed to Serenity's side, his eyes showing worry for her and his brother. However, it changed to shock.

"King Atem, you should come see this," Rebecca said as a spark of curiosity lit up her eyes.

Atem's face remained impassive as Mai and Joey followed him to the ceiling high window, wide enough for all of the seven to stand side by side.

'What is going on?' Atem thought when his eyes caught a green creature soaring through the sky, close to the castle. His eyes widened when he saw the passengers on the saddle. In the front of the saddle, Tea held onto the dragon's hair either out of fear or that she was not used to flying on a dragon while Kuriboh was in between her and Mokuba. The young magician with his love of dragon flying due his older brother allowing him to accompany him often was most likely laughing and asking Téa to have the dragon go faster. Tristan and Duke though were afraid due to the horrified expressions on their faces as the dragon dipped low to the ground.

"Is that Mana hanging on at the end of the dragon's tail?" Yugi asked, looking at his older brother.

Joey blinked when he saw Mana hanging onto the dragon's tail with one hand and her wand in the other. He turned to Seto who promptly glared at him.

"You are not doing a stupid stunt such as that on one of my dragons or any of the others in the stables."

"Why is Mana hanging at the end like that then?"

Atem decided to step in before more insults may be said. "Mahad and Mana must have seen Téa and the others on the dragon and decide to intervene instead of warning us. Mana, the daring magician she is, most likely tried to use a spell to slow the dragon down but it didn't work."

"It would explain why Mahad appears to be amazed at her actions," Mai said, noticing the purple magician was floating in one spot as the dragon circled around the castle.

"King Atem, you may be the only one who can help Téa stop that dragon," Seto told Atem, his eyes meeting his cousin's.

Atem's brow arched up at his cousin's statement. "Help Téa with the dragon?"

Seto nodded, his azure eyes turning back to window as the dragon flew past once again.

"That dragon would not submit to no one, not even I. The dragon may have sensed something about Téa that allowed her to ride it. However, Téa must be in fear judging from how she is gripping its hair."

Atem noted his cousin's observations and disappeared leaving a small trace of blackness behind.

* * *

><p>"Mokuba, how do I make Fayette land?" Téa yelled out to the young magician. She didn't have the courage to turn around and look at Mokuba, straight in the eye due to the fear that she may fall off the dragon if she didn't have something tight to hold onto. When she flew with Atem, he had her arms around her even if she did let go of him.<p>

"Why do you want Fayette land?" Mokuba asked as he threw his hands up in the air as the dragon rose higher into the sky.

"Because some people don't like flying on a dragon!" Tristan and Duke yelled, glaring at the young magician.

"Well holding the end of a dragon's tail isn't fun either!" Mana cried out, making the males on the saddle turn around towards the end of the dragon.

Mokuba's brow rose at the new passenger. "Mana when did you decide to join us on the dragon?"

Mana huffed, tightening her hold on the dragon's tail. " I'm not joining you on this dragon ride as much as I want to but Mahad and I need to get you all off this drago- Oh hi King Atem!"

Téa looked up, noticing that Fayette could no continue flying in the circles she had been doing for quite some time due to a blue aura holding her in place. Téa sighed in relief, glad this ride was over for the day.

'Note to self, never agree to riding a dragon again,' Téa thought as she felt someone shift behind her.

Mokuba hid himself behind Téa to avoid looking into his older cousin's eyes. He knew that if he was to look, disappointment would be there.

"Mahad, get everyone off the saddle while I land the dragon and meet with Seto to see why this dragon let you all ride it."

"King Atem if I may, I believe I know why the dragon let them ride her," Mahad appeared next to Téa, watching the young woman slowly uncurl her fingers in the dragon's hair.

Atem motioned Mahad to continue, a spark of curiosity flashing in the king's eyes.

"It seems that Téa and the dragon Fayette has a similar aura. An aura of," Mahad was silent for a moment, trying to select the best description of the connection he saw between Téa and the dragon. "Light."

Atem remained stoic at Mahad's words, realizing he too felt the aura of Téa before but didn't regard it too deeply. It was similar to Serenity's aura but it was much weaker with a few surges happening only a few times. Perhaps that was why Téa and Serenity seemed to enjoy each other's company more than with the other girls.

Téa looked between Mahad and Atem, noticing the air, figuratively speaking, was a bit tense.

"Not to be rude or anything but can we get down please?" Téa asked, her fear of heights increasing as they remained in place in the sky. "As much as it was fun riding Fayette before she started doing tricks, I miss the ground."

The corners of Mahad's lips tilted up slightly, a small smile on his face as he extended a hand to Téa. Téa reached to grab it when she was pushed to the other side of the saddle with Kuriboh and Mokuba.

"I believe I extended my hand for Téa, not you two," Mahad told the duo who somehow managed to get onto his back without shoving each other off.

"Would you rather leave your wife stuck with us, the kid and fur ball?" Duke asked the magician.

"That is a bad combo man. Who knows what kind of trouble we could get in," Tristan added to Duke's point. "Just imagine what they would do if they included us in their plans."

Téa frowned at Duke and Tristan's attempt to justify nearly pushing her, a child and a small creature off a flying dragon even if Mana or King Atem would rush to their aid to prevent them from falling.

'How rude,' Téa thought as she saw Mahad's brow twitch.

"Téa?" The cheery voice of Mana called the young woman out of her thoughts. "Are you ready to get off?"

Téa nodded, allowing Mana to wrap both of her arms around her waist as Téa grabbed Mokuba who held onto Kuriboh who was also eager to get down.

"When Seto and I are done with the dragon, I would like to speak with you Téa about this incident," Atem said before he took his leave with the dragon following close by. Whether it was Téa's doing or Fayette was too tired, she allowed him to guide her back to the stables with his magic. Téa felt fear crawl into her throat. What would King Atem say about this incident?

Tristan noticed his cousin's worried expression as Mahad and Mana began to descend to the ground where the

"Téa's not too heavy is she?" Tristan asked the female magician who immediately gave him a weird look of confusion. "I know one time she fell on my chest and I couldn't breathe until she got up. Not to mention she left quite a few nasty bruises on me."

Duke stared at his best friend in pure shock while Téa's was of pure anger.

"Tristan, it was nice knowing you pal and I promise to take care of Téa for you."

Tristan raised his brow at his friend's statement. "Why are you saying this to me?"

Mahad amused at this moment but wouldn't dare to express his amusement, understood what would happen as soon as they landed.

"I believe the saying Tristan is that hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."

With those words, he and Mana landed on the ground, letting go of their passengers. Téa immediately went to Tristan, jabbing her finger into his chest.

"Heavy? I was pushed by one of your friends from high school who wasn't paying attention. And didn't you learn not to discuss a woman's weight?"

Tristan was immediately regretting ever saying a word up in the air.

"I was just trying to clear the air, figuratively speaking of course, because it was so tense up-"

"Mokuba what in the world were you thinking?" Serenity chided the young boy as she had her arms wrapped around the young boy. "You could have gotten hurt. Téa, Tristan and Duke could have been killed!"

"Saved by the-Wait I could have been killed?" Tristan screeched, looking at the moon maiden with astonishment. He immediately turned his attention to the young magician who had a small sheepish grin on his face. "You didn't mention that part Mokuba."

"But Serenity, Fayette likes Téa and since she knows we're close to Téa, she wouldn't let us be harmed," Mokuba argued, Kuriboh at his side nodding.

"Kri!"

"What you did Mokuba was reckless and I am highly disappointed in you," said Mahad, watching the boy grit his teeth. "I believe the new lessons will have to wait as you will be helping me with gathering supplies I need for at least a month. During that time you can practice on spells you already know."

Joey whistled lowly at the young magician's punishment. "Harsher punishment dan what Mana gets."

"Joey," Yugi shushed his friend, "Now is not the time to be saying that."

"I still don't know why he is part of your brother's bureaucracy," Rebecca whispered to Yugi, loud enough for Joey to hear.

Joey's brow twitched at the fire woman's words. Knowing they both dealt with fire, their confrontations at times turned from bickering comments to Yugi having to hold Rebecca back from setting the room on fire.

"Yug, I don't know why your brother let a short-minded woman like her on da bureaucracy. She's neva goin' to look at da big picture because she's so tiny."

The blue spell caster sighed, rubbing his forehead from the sudden dull ache created by his wife and his best friend.

"You two stop right now, this is not about you!"

Joey and Rebecca glared at each other one more time before looking in the opposite direction both having their arms around their chest.

Téa raised an eyebrow slightly at the two. 'For being members of a bureaucracy for a king like Atem, they sure do not act like one.'

"Mokuba," Seto called out to his younger brother. At his side was Atem, watching the scene before him.

"Mahad may have given you your punishment but I have not given mine," Seto saw his younger brother's jaw drop, clearly upset at his revelation.

"But Seto-"

"Mokuba, listen to your brother." The humorless tone of Atem's voice made the boy be quiet and wait for his brother to speak.

"Though King Atem and I are proud you made such a discovery, we cannot condone your actions today. You will help me take care of the dragons in the stable and you are not allowed to leave the castle without myself or a trusted adult if you have Téa and the other two with you," Seto's eyes quickly darted to where Mana and Joey were standing then to his brother again. "You also will not be allowed to talk to Téa, Duke and Tristan until you are done with your studies and help me with the stables until I feel that you learned from your actions."

Mokuba nodded solemnly turning away from his brother as he headed back to the castle with Serenity to get some lunch.

Téa watched sadly as the two left, turning to face Seto and King Atem.

"Can't you give him a small break from this punishment? We weren't harmed and if he knew if something were to happen, he would rush to find you."

Seto felt a small spark of anger at her words but understood that she grew attached to his younger brother, almost as another mother to the boy. Also her caring heart and how she regarded friends in such a high manner would make her say such things

"Téa, we cannot allow an event severe as this to go unpunished," Seto replied, keeping his voice placid. "My brother knows that sometimes a dragon can become violent at any second. Fayette as you so have named her was one of the dragons that refused to let anyone near her. We would not like to imagine if she had decided to become violent."

"Not to be rude or anything, but you shouldn't place the blame all on one kid. We did agree to go with him on the dragon," Duke surprised everyone with his words, particularly Tristan more since Duke didn't like to admit he was in the wrong.

"It is not easy for us to place this punishment on Mokuba as he still is a child. But I do agree that all the blame should not be placed on Mokuba. That is why you, Tristan and Téa are no longer allowed to leave the castle without myself, Yugi, Seto and Mahad."

"Wait, wait," Tristan interrupted Atem, knowing that a few people would be mad for such a bold move. "So if Téa wants girl time with the ladies, she can't spend time with them unless you or the other three were there? You are going to regret that decision you know because girls can drive someone insane."

If Tristan felt the glares of four females, he would refuse to acknowledge it.

'Man, you would think they would be grateful for a guy like me to be standing up for them but no, they're being picky.'

Atem took Tristan's words into consideration. Téa would be comfortable amongst her fellow gender as he heard how much at ease she was when she was with the female members of his bureaucracy. Mai, Rebecca and Serenity would be able to keep everyone calm as well remember the limitations Téa has in their world. Mana though was another story, judging from her hop along ride with the dragon.

"Téa may have girl time as you call it with the others as long as they stay on the castle grounds," Atem turned to Téa who showed no sign of anger at these new rules she and her companions would have to follow. However, he did hear that Téa was a woman to bear a grudge and not show it until as Tristan said, push her buttons the wrong way.

"Téa, would you like to accompany with me again to the other villages of my kingdom soon once I take care of troubles village leaders have reported to me?"

Téa nodded her head, a small smile on her face. "I like the idea. There must be beautiful places in your kingdom that are simply breathtaking."

"Yes," Atem said proudly as the grip of his gloved hand tightened around his staff. The sense of pride grew weak as he turned away to discuss the situation with Mahad and Yugi in his private chambers who followed him conscientiously. 'You and the rest of the kingdom will think so too in a matter of a few months but they will not feel serene, they will be scared.'

When they were in Atem's chambers, Yugi placed his hand on worried brother's shoulder.

"You will know what to do about this," Yugi spoke softly in assurance. Atem sighed, his eyes landing on a mirror. The figure in the mirror stared at him, the pale blue skin of death with strange black markings were the scars that would never heal until Téa could break this curse. Hopefully she would look into his crimson eyes, the only reminder of his life before and see beyond what he could do in this state.

* * *

><p><strong>I hope you enjoyed this chapter! You know how I said that the first author's note wasn't going to be as important as this one? Well there's a reason for that...<strong>

**I'm putting this story on hiatus. **

**"Why?" you may cry and here are my reason(s).**

**1) I no longer feel inspired to write Yu-Gi-Oh! fanfiction. **

**I actually barely write anymore unless someone is pressuring me to. Heck, I don't even read Yu-Gi-Oh! fanfiction unless it's a friend's story or one that I put on my alert list.**

**It has been a while since I have watched the original series, about 1-2 years.**

**I feel like I have a block when trying to write the characters in the chapters.**

**2) I want to write other stories for different anime or cartoons.**

**I really enjoy writing beyond Yu-Gi-Oh! I watch/read other things and I have a list of story ideas that I want see how they would work. ****Writing for only one fandom isn't me. I like variety in my life and it seems like with Yu-Gi-Oh! stories I write, they're similar. I know some writers don't mind writing for only one fandom (kudos to them) but like I said, I NEED variety and I want to expand further out.**

**3) I want to type all the chapters, edit them and post them until the final chapter is done. **

**Some writers on fanfiction do it. With this strategy, they don't feel the stress or guilt of not updating. **

**4) I may no longer have the time to write.**

**I'm graduating next year and I have so many things to do. Having two multi-chapters story in progress on fanfiction is not being organized. It was a complete mistake on my part to ever do something like that.**

**So that's my main reasons why I'm putting this story on hiatus. Complain if you want to in a review, send me a message about how my decision is wrong or whatever will be ignored. I don't want to feel pressured to write a story. It should always be a hobby that I enjoy and relax to. But it hasn't been of late.**

**Anyways, I will end this author's note with a thank you to those who have been there with me since the beginning and to those who will stick with me when I update again.**

**SweetComplications**


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